Danger Zone
by Aynslesa
Summary: Nothing is ever as it seems . . .
1. Default Chapter Title

**__**

{I'm not going to comment endlessly during this story :: crowd cheers :: but I do want to say one thing. If you're going to give me a review, and you don't like the story, you don't have to type up the same review and rating more than once to get the point across. Likewise if you like the story. It's really annoying. Thank you. :: leaves before she realizes everyone really was ignoring her ::}

Danger Zone

Prologue

2026

"Move. Now!"

A guard roughly shoved a young man back into the line of exhausted prisoners. The man stumbled, lost his balance, and fell to his knees. "Please," he mumbled through chapped lips. "Please, spare us."

The guard grabbed him by the tattered collar of his shirt and forced him back into the line. 

Towards the front, another man, many years older than the beggar was, shook his head in disgust. He couldn't believe that people still thought that begging and pleading would change a Yeerk's mind. It's absurd, he thought, that we outnumber them and yet we choose to do nothing about it. 

Many prisoners, such as him, had been hiding out in the ruins of New York City. There were others who had eluded capture this time, but Ethan Carruthers knew that eventually their time would come. As his had. 

He scanned the other lines for signs of his wife, and their two children. But so many were being forced on this death trek, all with tattered clothing, soot-covered faces, and dismal expressions, that he couldn't make out one from the next.

Ahead, the Brooklyn Bridge approached steadily. Ethan found it amazing that the structure had actually survived the explosions, while other landmarks -- the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Times Square -- had been flattened or defaced so that they were almost unrecognizable. Central Park itself was nothing but a crater. It had been Ground Zero for the bomb.

Ethan took a deep breath and focused on staying calm. There were children in this group, and they were scared enough as it was. The last thing he wanted was for them to panic completely. And he knew they would, once they fully realized what the sight of the Bridge meant. Ethan knew. So did many of the other adults. 

The knowledge didn't make it any easier. 

But for the sake of the children, he could not let on what lied ahead! 

Oh, Anya! Ethan thought, thinking of his beloved wife. She was here somewhere, among the throng of the doomed. His children, both eight, were as well. If only I had listened to you!

They were on the bridge now, steadily approaching the center where the water was the deepest. Ethan watched as the people before him were grabbed roughly, forced to their knees, and tied with rope.

The moment had arrived. 

Ethan Carruthers waited.

Then he, too, was grabbed roughly and forced to his knees. He uttered nothing, instead just stared ahead. No amount of begging, pleading, or fighting would change his fate now.

Better than being a Controller, Ethan thought. But he said nothing.

Each prisoner was lined up on the edge of the bridge, facing out towards the water. Each prisoner was tied with rope, tied to each other. No gags were placed -- it wouldn't matter. Men, women, and children were forced to stand there, some knowing what lay ahead, others just beginning to realize. 

The commander began the countdown.

"Ten," he said in the interstellar language of Galard.

"Nine."

Once again, Ethan searched for his family. 

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

There she was! Anya, waiting sedately just fifteen away. She caught his eye, and nodded. Ethan smiled reassuringly, but the smile was forced.

"Five."

"Four."

One "Three" the ropes that bound Ethan went slack. Something had loosened them.

"Two."

"One."

"Commence."

Ethan looked once more at his wife until she disappeared from his view.

A sharp pain erupted in the back of his skull.

Nothing . . . 

Chapter One

Present Day

In the command center of AAA a.k.a. The Andalite-Animorphs Alliance, Force Commander War-Prince Galuit stood sedately in the center of the room. It was almost time for the check-in. 

"We're being hailed, sir," Lieutenant Thomas said. "Radio line 47627576."

Patch it through, Galuit said, knowing full well who it was. 

A face appeared on the screen. Hello, Galuit.

Hello, Breeyar, Galuit replied. What is your location?

Breeyar glanced off to the side of the screen, then nodded. We're about ten miles from Manhattan at this moment. Right on schedule.

Galuit nodded. No changes?

No changes. 

Very well, then. Keep in touch, and alert me when you have arrived.

Of course, Breeyar said. Breeyar, out.

The screen went blank, replaced with the symbol of the AAA. 

Galuit turned away from the screen and stepped over to where a young Andalite was working steadily at a computer. How are things going, Aximili? he asked.

Ax looked up. I'm having a rough time accessing any files, but the information Aci and Tom gave us is very helpful.

Any information on when the Yeerks will be attacking the South tunnel?

Ax shook his head.

Galuit sighed. Well, keep trying. He turned to Chief Taylor. I'm going to my chambers. Notify me if there are any changes. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Enter."

Nine was not in an especially good mood that day, and the messenger realized that the moment he stepped into the Councilmember's office. Suddenly, the Controller started the think that coming was an extremely bad idea.

"I said, _enter!_"

The Controller, who's human name was Watson, stumbled into the room. Nine stared shrewdly at him. "What do you want?"

Watson tried to steady himself so that it wouldn't be too apparent that he was scared to death. He didn't succeed. 

"I bring news from the Pool, sir," Watson said, his voice shaking almost as bad as his body. 

"Yes?"

"The Yeerk Acissej and her host Tom have not been seen for many days. They were due in for Kandrona treatments at 0400 this morning, and did not arrive."

Nine narrowed its eyes. It knew very well that Acissej had once been named Visser Seven, although most Yeerks believed the Visser had been destroyed. And the news of her departure was unsettling. 

"Well, what do you suppose happened to them?" Nine asked calmly.

Watson shrugged.

"You don't know?"

Watson shook his head.

"Well, then, there's only one thing to do," Nine said in the silky voice that sent chills through his spine.

"Wha-what's that, sir?"

"_Find them!_" Nine roared, slamming its hands on the desk. 

Chapter Two

"How's it going back there?" Geoff asked, peering into the cargo hold of the transport where most of the platoon were sitting. Aci was in the driver's seat, carefully maneuvering the transport module around the broken rocks and gutted streets.

"It's thrilling," Marco muttered. "Honestly. Tell me, are there any potholes that you're missing? We're just not feeling enough of them back here."

"I'm doing the best that I can," Aci said patiently. She'd been putting up with Marco's back seat -- cargo seat? -- driving ever since they'd left AAA headquarters three days earlier. And she was, needless to say, getting kind of sick of it. However, she was on probation, and she couldn't risk anyone going to Galuit and complaining about her. The AAA was her only chance to survive.

"Shut up, Marco," Jake said tolerantly. "How much longer do you think we have, Aci?"

Aci peered ahead through the fog and the dust. "Well, I can see what looks like the remains of the Empire State Building," she said. "Is that close enough for you?" The Empire State Building had been sliced neatly in half, and the top was lying across several city blocks. The needle was separated from the top, and it was directly in front of them.

Aci stopped the transport.

"Everybody out," she said, pulling back the tarp that covered the others. "There's no way to get around this needle. We'll need to get in on foot."

Marco groaned as he sat up. "Aw, man, now I know what the Genie felt like in _Aladdin_ when he got out of that lamp. Only it took three days instead of ten thousand years."

Rachel gave him a skeptical look. "I don't know what you're complaining about," she said, jumping out the back of the transport. "I'm not stiff."

Marco glared at her. "Yeah, well, that's you, Ms. Gymnast. You're used to folding yourself up like that. Fortunately, I'm not you."

"And never will be, thank the Ellimist," Jake muttered.

Breeyar glanced over the side of the cargo hold. Coalmeer and I are going to morph, he said. I doubt any Yeerks would take kindly to Andalites walking around in one of their territories.

Geoff and Aci stepped out of the transport's cab as the two Andalites began to morph. "Exactly how dangerous is this place?" Marco asked, adjusting the neckline of his uniform. He'd had to trade in the AAA insignia for a standard Yeerk suit, and he wasn't enjoying it. While the jumpsuit had been light and comfortable, the Yeerk uniform was heavy and hot. 

"There were rumors," Coalmeer said, now human and stepping out of the cargo hold, "that a few years ago Yeerks would round up renegades living in city limits and shoot them off the Brooklyn Bridge."

"They weren't rumors," Aci muttered in disgust.

Jake, Marco, and Rachel looked uneasily at each other.

After an unsettling silence, Breeyar cleared his throat. "Ahem. Does everyone have a weapon?"

Rachel held up the Dracon beam. "Check."

"What about the communicator?" 

Geoff was just handing the small device to Coalmeer. "Right here."

"Provisions?"

Marco sighed and hoisted the pack onto his back. "I've got the test tube treats, don't worry."

"What about keys to the transport?"

Aci stuck them in the pocket of her uniform. Breeyar nodded. "All right, then. Let's go."

The group began moving towards the needle that was once part of the Empire State Building. Breeyar was in the front, followed by Aci, Jake, Rachel, Geoff, Coalmeer, and Marco at the end. The needle, which had once been perfectly smooth, now had ridges carved in it. Apparently someone had cut stairs into the metal.

"Come on, Marco," Jake said as Marco began to climb up the stairs.

"Wait for me on the other side," Marco called up, adjusting the pack of "test tube treats", as he put it. "This thing's kind of slowing me down."

Come to me.

The words formed suddenly in Marco's mind. "Huh?" he exclaimed.

"What?" Jake asked from the other side of the needle.

Come to me. I'm here . . .

Suddenly a picture, like a map, appeared in Marco's mind. "What was that?" he muttered.

"Marco, are you okay?" 

He shook his head and looked down. Jake and the others were staring up at him. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Just kind of spaced out for a moment." For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell Jake about the voice.

One thing about the Third Eye, he said scornfully as he moved towards his friends, sometimes the words are meant only for you.

But who had called out to him?

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"Be careful with that!" Sytsirk 9-1-0 shouted at a few Taxxons. "If that things drops, Nine will have your heads!"

"Ssreeeeuuaaaaeee," one of the Taxxons complained in its barbaric tongue.

Sytsirk narrowed his eyes. "Don't even think about it, you miserable worm. Nine will destroy you far before me. Now be _careful_ with that!"

Once again, the Yeerk was getting an extreme headache as he dealt with the infuriating incompetence of the Taxxon-Controllers. Being in a Hork-Bajir body was much better than the human he had occupied up until a few days ago. 

Finally, he was rid of that annoying human. Ever since Tom McCain had found out that his younger brother had been part of the guerrilla squadron that had almost driven the late Visser One mad, he'd been almost impossible to deal with. Sytsirk had indeed caught a lucky break with finding the location of the AAA tunnel and alerting Nine that the Animorphs had returned. 

I'll be promoted to Visser in no time, thought the Yeerk smugly. Then he focused on what was happening in front of him. "No, you Taxxon _yreve_! The generator goes _beneath_ the modulator, not _above_ it! Now get to work! The new Kandrona will be here at any moment, and the last thing Nine needs is to find that we didn't get the base prepared for it!"

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh on them?" Aidualc wondered.

Sytsirk turned to his poolmate. "Harsh?" he repeated. "If anything, I'm being _lenient. _These fools spend their lives flittering around their Hive like their the rulers of the world. It's about time someone forced them to do a little labor."

"Why do you think this statue was chosen for the new Kandrona Wave/Particle Generator?" Ihsik asked.

Sytsirk shrugged. "I don't know, and I truly don't care."

"Well, look at it," Aidualc said, motioning to the towering hive. "It's one of the largest structures in the city. The torch is perfect for transmitting Kandrona beams. We already know that Nine is planning on dredging the water around this island and removing the remains of those rebels that were executed there, and then refitting the water into more Pools. New York is to be the site of our new base. The Buffalo one is too close to AAA saboteurs for our liking. This is the perfect spot."

Sytsirk nodded. "You're right, of course. It is the perfect spot."

Behind them, a shadow moved into the darkness of an alley. 

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Tobias sat on the roof of the large apartment complex where he and the other Animorphs had their quarters. From where he was sitting, he could see the flocks of birds flying around aviary. They weren't even aware of the fact that the habitat they lived in wasn't true sky. Every bird had been born into the facility.

"Hey."

Tobias turned around and saw Cassie coming over to him. "Hi," he said. "How'd you know I was here?"

"What, are you kidding? Where are you every time you don't want to be found? Either up in the sky or on the nearest roof. You weren't in your room, Galuit hadn't seen you -- I figured you'd be up here." Cassie sat down next to him. "Rachel, right?"

Tobias smiled slightly. "Am I that obvious?" 

"Only if you know what to look for," Cassie replied. "You know, it's okay to be worried. I'm worried about them myself. Ax is, too, even if he doesn't show it."

Tobias leaned forward, never taking his eyes off the birds. "I'm not really worried," he said. "It's just, well . . . oh, never mind."

"What?" She looked at him. "Come on, Tobias, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone else."

He finally turned away from the birds and looked at his friend. "This is a strange world we're in," he said. "It's nothing like the Earth we left behind. I mean, in a way, it's kind of relief. We don't have to hide our identities from people, our lives don't have to be about secrets, but then again --." He stopped and just kind of shook his head. 

"Then again," Cassie finished, "the Yeerks are here in force, every time Andalites come they get shot down, we live underground, and the only free humans are refugees who refuse to realize that there's a real danger."

"Unless they're part of the AAA," Tobias pointed out.

"Yeah," Cassie said. "All one hundred and thirty-something of them." She shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound so cynical."

"You know what else is strange?"

"What?"

"Every time I see a Chee walking around, I can't help missing Erek. I mean, I can understand why he decided to stay in Elysia, but still." Tobias shrugged. "Things just aren't the same without him." 

"I know what you mean."

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes.

__

"Would Cassandra Hill and Tobias O'Conner please report to the command center at the first plausible moment? Thank you."

"Only a Chee would turn an order into a request," Tobias laughed. "Come on. Let's go see what they want with us now."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silently, the figure moved in the shadows of the ruined building. It wasn't everyday that strangers arrived in Old New York. They wore the uniforms of the Yeerks, and yet they didn't move like Controllers. They didn't have the arrogant swagger.

And there was something peculiar about the last stranger. A boy in his early teens, with tan skin and short black hair. He seemed to be looking for something.

His gaze fell on the hiding place where the figure stood. 

Slowly, the figure melted into the shadows once more.

The boy shrugged, and continued. 

Chapter Three

What was that?

Marco was walking behind everyone else. He had been unconsciously mapping out the area they were in, and comparing it to the map that he had seen in his mind's eye. For quite some time now, since they'd arrived in the city, he'd felt as if someone, or more than one someone, had been following him. Watching him. 

If there was one thing Marco Sinclair didn't like, it was people spying on him.

"This is it," he muttered to himself, quietly enough so that Coalmeer didn't overhear him. They had reached a T-junction. The route on the mind map pointed off to the left. The route Aci was leading them on went off to the right.

Left, or right?

Marco needed to think fast.

There are six people heading for the Statue of Liberty, he thought. I'm the only one who heard that call. What if someone's in danger? I gotta do this. He tapped Coalmeer on the shoulder. "Hey," he said. "Listen, this thing is getting kind of heavy. Do you think you could take it for awhile?"

"Sure," Coalmeer said easily, taking the pack from Marco. 

"Thanks."

The moment Coalmeer's back was turned, Marco turned down the left street.

For moment, he wondered if he was, in fact, crazy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's going on?" Tobias asked as soon as he and Cassie arrived in the command center.

Galuit didn't take his eyes off the screen. The Yeerks are preparing an arsenal, he said. It will only be a matter of time before they start searching for the South tunnel.

"But that thing's been destroyed, hasn't it?" Cassie asked.

It's been blocked from the base, yes, Galuit agreed. However, construction of a new South tunnel has begun a few miles away. Lieutenant-Commander Garcia, could you please fill us in?

Garcia nodded. "Yes, Captain," she said. A blueprint appeared on the screen. "As you can see, the new South tunnel is being built parallel to the old one. We were hoping for construction to be completed before the Yeerks came, but now we have a new problem. The arsenal the Yeerks are preparing contain several Bug Tanks -- a form of land Bug fighters. If the tanks move over the unstable areas of the tunnel, then the tunnel will collapse."

"If," Tobias said. "Doesn't necessarily mean they will."

"True," Garcia agreed, "but it's better to be safe instead of sorry."

Galuit turned to Cassie, Tobias, and now, Ax. We will have to shore up the tunnel.

"With what?" It wasn't a question of whether or not they were going to -- it was a question of how where they going to do it.

Anything that you can find, Galuit said. I want you to organize teams to go into that tunnel and begin reinforcing the walls and ceilings. There should be several sturdy materials in the construction area.

The three of them nodded. "How much time do we have?" Tobias asked.

Galuit looked at Garcia. 

The lieutenant-commander glanced at her screen. "Approximate ETA is in one hour."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"These guys aren't very bright, you know?" Jake whispered to Rachel as the platoon walked by yet another group of Controllers. "You'd think they'd recognize the enemy when they see it."

"We've still got a couple miles before we can even see Lady Liberty," Rachel replied. "I'm sure security will be more beefed up the closer we get to the statue. After all, if it's supposed to be the new site for the Kandrona . . ."

"Shh," Geoff said quickly, stopping. He nodded towards a Controller who was coming their way. Jake noted that he definitely a military type. 

"Who are you?" the Controller demanded, one hand on his Dracon beam. 

Aci immediately seized command of the situation. "They're with me."

"Who are you?" he repeated.

"I am Acissej 9-0-1 of the Hett Simplatt pool," Aci said with authority. "They're with me."

Suddenly the Controller's eyes narrowed. Jake started to get a very bad feeling about this.

"Acissej 9-0-1 of the Hett Simplatt pool?" he said in a dangerously low voice.

Aci recognized the difference in his tone. "Yes," she said. 

"We've been looking for you," he said. "According to your superiors, you haven't been to the Yeerk pool for three days. Yet you're still alive and in good health."

"I went to another pool," bluffed Aci.

"Then where if your host, the one called Tom?"

Aci gulped. She couldn't say Tom had been killed -- what if someone later saw him? Stupid, she berated herself. Or course they were going to notice you were gone when you didn't show up in the pool. 

The Controller took this as a bad sign. "Acissej, you are --" He slumped forward as Breeyar, who had silently demorphed, smacked him in the head with the flat of his blade. The Controller hit the ground, unconscious.

"Andalite!" 

"Run!" Jake shouted.

Chapter Four

"Run!"

Marco heard the command from far off, barely more than a whisper. "Jake!" he gasped, whirling around. Instinctively, his hand went to the weapon that he knew wasn't there. He had dropped it somewhere along the way, in order to make it over the debris easier. 

He had no idea where he dropped it.

"Come on, Marco," he growled. "Focus, focus." He scanned his memory for the different morphs he could do. Osprey? No, he'd never get off the ground. Gorilla? Maybe, but they're kind of slow. Rhino? Definitely not. They're half blind.

"DAMN!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Something pressed up against the back of his neck. Something cold. 

"Freeze."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, let's get these things moving!"

Several people gripped the sides of the concrete barrier. "On my count," Tom commanded. "One. Two. THREE!" On three they all heaved up. It was a strain on their muscles, but worth it. "Don't drop it," Tom warned as they moved it into the tunnel. 

Ax was at the tunnel entrance, guiding traffic so that no one got hurt. Tobias was at the other end of the tunnel, making sure things were being held in place.

"All right, people, we've got ETA in forty-five minutes!" Cassie shouted into a bullhorn. "Let's keep it moving. If anyone gets hurt, report immediately to the nearest medic. If you can walk, you can help."

Tom and his crew carried the heavy barrier down to the weakest area. "Slowly, slowly," Tobias said, motioning them forward. "Okay, let's get it on its side. Careful now! We don't want to cause the tunnel to collapse ourselves."

"How are things holding up in here?" Tom asked as he worked to turn the barrier end up. 

Tobias shook his head. "I'm not so sure this is going to work. Every time we stick a barrier in, another area needs shoring up. Unless we fill this entire tunnel, I don't think we're going to succeed." He said this quietly so that the other workers couldn't hear. "I'll tell you, though -- this would go a lot easier if we had Rachel and Marco here."

"Why Rachel and Marco?" Carson asked in his muffled voice. He'd been hanging onto Tobias' every word.

"Rachel's got her elephant morph, and Marco's got the gorilla," Tobias replied. "Both of them are extremely strong."

"Too late now," Tom replied as they pushed the barrier in place. He glanced up at the ceiling, and sure enough, another section started to sag in. "Man, I just hope this doesn't come down on us."

Behind him, another crew came with another barrier. "Easy!" Tobias said when he spotted them. "I can't talk now, Tom -- think you're up to carrying more?"

"Like Cassie said, if I can walk I can help." He headed back down the tunnel, with Carson hot on his trail.

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Marco put his hands up in the air. "Please don't kill me," he begged.

The gun -- because that was what it was -- moved away from his neck. "Strange, for a Yeerk to beg," the voice said.

"I'm not a Yeerk," Marco replied indignantly.

"That's what they all say."

The voice was definitely female. A female with an attitude, Marco could figure out from the tone she used. Someone who was afraid, but covered it up with words. He knew it well.

Slowly, he turned around and looked at his attacker. If it hadn't been for the voice, he wouldn't have been able to figure out what gender she was. Her entire body was encased in a black hooded robe. In her hand was a modified Dracon beam. "Who are you?" he asked.

The gun went up a little. "I should be asking you the same question," she sneered. "What are you doing in my home?"

"Your . . . home?" He looked around. He was in the basement of what looked like an old apartment building. He remembered following the directions on the map, and walking inside. "I followed the directions."

"_What_ directions?" she demanded.

"The ones on the map," Marco replied. "The ones that I got through a vision."

That seemed to visibly shake her up. At the very least, it persuaded her to put her weapon away. "You saw the vision?" she whispered. "How? I was sending that out for someone else!"

"Well, it's pretty easy to intercept things if you're psychic," Marco answered, folding his arms across his chest.

Immediately, Marco felt something probing his mind. He automatically blocked it with his own power. "You _are_ psychic," the girl whispered. "No Yeerk can tap into that power. They block it instead." For a moment, she seemed to relax. Then she tensed up. "If you're not a Yeerk, then what are you?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm an Animorph," he said. "I work for the Andalite-Animorphs Alliance."

"I've heard the Yeerks talk of such a place," she said thoughtfully. "I never knew it actually existed."

"Look, were you the one who sent out that message?"

She nodded.

"Okay. Are you in trouble?"

She shook her head.

"Fine. Then I'm going. My friends are being chased by a bunch of Controllers, and I'd like to find them in one piece." He turned to leave.

"I know an easier way," she replied. "Follow me."

Marco looked at her. He tried to access her memories, to see if she was a Controller, but he was easily blocked. "Don't try that again," she said coldly.

"All right, all right," he said, backing off. "By the way, my name's Marco."

She paused uncertainly. "You may call me Cat. This way."

He followed her out of the basement.

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"Sytsirk!"

Aidualc hurried towards his boss. "What is it?" Sytsirk asked, turning away from the construction to look at the new arrival.

"One of the patrols caught spies inside the city limits," he said, trying to catch his breath. Humans tire so easily, he thought. "Six of them -- four humans and two Andalites."

"The AAA," Sytsirk growled. "How did they find out about the Kandrona?"

"One of them claims to be Acissej 9-0-1," Aidualc said. No more explanation was needed. 

"We will have to alert Nine to this," his boss said. "Where are the prisoners?"

"At the base of the statue."

Sytsirk turned to his workers. "Continue working!" he commanded. "Any slackers will be fed to the workers once this project is complete!"

Meanwhile, at the base of the statue, Breeyar, Geoff, and Aci stood helplessly in the center of a large group of Controllers. Sytsirk pushed his way through. "I thought you said there were six of them!" he growled.

Aidualc immediately sensed his mistake. "Yes, well, it appears that the other three may have . . . morphed. Two of them were Animorphs, and the other an Andalite."

Sytsirk glared at him. Then he motioned for two guards. "Take him to a transport, and make sure Nine deals with him."

Aidualc gasped. "But . . . Sytsirk! No! Put me down! Put me down!"

Everyone ignored his cries.

Breeyar glared at the contemptuous Yeerk. You'll never get away with this, he snapped. There are still more of us out there!

"Yes, well, once we're through with you, there'll be three less than there were before. Where are the rest of the spies?"

"We don't know of any other spies," Geoff said.

Sytsirk pressed a blade against Geoff's throat. "I know you're lying, boy," he growled. "I have eyewitnesses who said that there were six of you."

"Your eyewitnesses were wrong, Sytsirk," Aci said coldly. 

He turned away from Geoff and stared at her. "What have they done to you, Acissej?" Sytsirk asked incredulously. "Why have you turned your back on everything you've ever believed in?"

"You have no idea what it is I believe in," she spat. 

His face hardened. "Lock them up," he commanded. "And put out an all-points bulletin for the other three spies. I want them found."

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"So, do you often walk around on rooftops?" Marco asked as he moved steadily behind Cat.

"Whenever there's a rooftop to be found," she replied coolly. 

"Ah." Marco thought for a moment. "You live alone?"

"Yes."

"Where's your family?"

"I have no family," she answered.

"What about your parents? Come on, you can't be much older than me. You must have parents somewhere. Brothers, sisters?"

Cat stopped and spun around. "I told you," she hissed. "I have no family. And I don't really want to answer anymore of your questions. You're lucky I'm offering to take you to your friends. So shut up and be grateful."

Marco stared at her, taken aback. "Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just curious. It's a condition I have -- I can't seem to quit while I'm ahead. So sue me."

Cat stared at him for a few minutes, then shook her head. "Whatever."

Something moved behind her. 

"Look out!" Marco shouted as a Hork-Bajir came leaping down from the roof behind her, Dracon beam out.

Cat whirled around and pulled her own gun out. In less than a second, she aimed and fired a point blank shot to the heart. The Hork-Bajir stopped, shuddered, and fell to the ground.

"Wow," Marco breathed, stunned.

Cat turned up the power on the weapon. "That was stun," she said. "We better get out of here before he wakes up and calls for help."

"Lead the way." As he walked past the unconscious alien, he couldn't help but shudder. 

This girl was dangerous.

Chapter Five

Any word from Breeyar and the others? Galuit asked as he entered the command center. 

Lieutenant Thomas shook his head. "There have been no incoming or outgoing calls since the last transmission."

Galuit gazed worriedly at the screen, then turned to Garcia. How's the ETA?

"We're at thirty minutes and counting down, sir," she replied briskly. "How is the tunnel going?"

Thirty minutes? he asked, ignoring her question. She nodded. We'll be lucky is we get half of it completed. Every time one area gets fixed, another falters. It's starting to look like an impossible task.

"Without the South tunnel, though, we're completely shut off from the city," Ensign Bernstein said, overhearing the captain's words. Bernstein was in charge of the sonar and security systems. 

Galuit, of course, knew this. Would you rather risk cutting the base off the city, or having the Yeerks find our base and shove an alien slug in your ear? he asked calmly, turning to the Ensign.

Bernstein nodded briskly and turned back to her screen.

Good choice. Galuit turned to Thomas. I want you to try to contact Breeyar. Send out a transmission every five minutes -- and don't stop unless I say so.

"I'm sure nothing's wrong," Chief Taylor said as Galuit resumed his position in the center of the room. 

Galuit just shook his head. They were supposed to be in the city limits by five o' clock, he said wearily. It's five forty-five now. Breeyar's always on schedule. He glanced up at the blank communications screen. Something's happened, and I don't like it.

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On a planet far from Earth, twelve people sat around a large room. The Council of Thirteen was awaiting news from Nine, their confidant on the planet Earth. The Emperor, especially, was waiting.

A small area in the center of the room began to glow and take shape. "Welcome, Nine," the Emperor said.

"Welcome," the rest of his followers said in complete monotone. 

Nine nodded. "Thank you."

"What is the status of Earth?" the Emperor asked.

"We are beginning the attack on the AAA base," Nine replied. "The new room for the Kandrona is almost complete. However, I've been informed that the AAA got wind of the Kandrona and sent spies to destroy it. We have captured three of those spies, and our forces are tracking down the remaining three. We believe there are six in all. Four humans and two Andalites."

"How did they hear about the Kandrona installment?" 

Nine's eyes narrowed. "Acissej 9-0-1, my liege. She has somehow allied herself with the AAA. Since she was once a high ranking Yeerk, there's no telling what she might know."

"And has the traitor been caught?"

"Not to my knowledge," Nine lied. It knew full well that Acissej was among the three spies captured, and it was in no hurry to reveal that knowledge. It had plans for her.

The Emperor, however, seemed satisfied with the report. "Is that all, Nine?" 

"One more thing," Nine replied. "The terrorist within the limits of New York may still be around. According to Sytsirk, who I have put in charge of the Kandrona overseement, one of his troops was found stunned from one blow, at a very accurate range."

The Emperor's eyes glowed a brighter red, showing his unhappiness with the report. "If that terrorist is indeed around," he growled, "then we have more problems than suspected. If she allies herself with the remaining spies --"

"I doubt that will be a problem," Nine interrupted. The other Councilmembers drew in sharp breaths, knowing that the Emperor didn't tolerate interruptions.

"And why is that?" growled the Emperor.

Nine grinned its wicked and terrifying grin. "If there's one thing I know about the terrorist, it's this: The Cataluna is not one to trust another. _Especially_ if that another is human."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How'd you get the name Cat?" 

Marco was still trying to get this girl to talk, and she was still dodging all his questions.

"It's my name," she replied.

"Well, what's it short for?"

"The rest of my name," Cat replied slyly.

Marco rolled his eyes. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" 

"Immensely," she said, rolling her eyes. What was with this boy? she wondered. Why couldn't he just be satisfied with yes and no answers? Did she have to tell him her entire life story before he shut up?

No, she thought vehemently. I will _never_ tell anyone about my past. That part of me is dead and gone. It will never return. I won't let it return.

Suddenly Marco grabbed her arm. "Look," he said, turning her to look at him. "I'm grateful that you're helping me find my friends, but I have this unwritten rule of not trusting someone until they prove they deserve my trust. You haven't done that yet. I'd like to be able to trust you, though, and in order for me to do that you can't keep dodging my questions. For all I know, you might be working for the Yeerks. You might be leading me straight into a --" But before he could say the word 'trap', Cat grabbed his wrist, pulled it off her arm, spun him around, pinned his arm to his back, and shoved his up against a wall.

"Let me be clear on this," she said smoothly. "I will never, and have never, work for the Yeerks. Don't ever believe that. As for trust, well, trust is something that no one deserves. You put your trust in a person, and that gives that person the ability to hurt you. I had to learn that the hard way. I've stayed alive because I don't trust anyone. 

"Not even if they prove they deserve it."

She released her hold and stepped back. "I will help you find your friends," she said, not looking at him. "But I will not trust you. And I will not open myself up to you. Know that now, and know that your efforts to get me to speak are futile."

Marco rubbed his arm gingerly. "I got it. Off limits, right?" She nodded curtly and began walking. Marco grinned. He'd get her to open up sooner or later.

Most likely later, he thought as he continued to follow her through the city.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake was not in a good mood. He'd just been chased by five different Hork-Bajir, been forced to morph into a cockroach in order to escape, and then, when he demorphed, found himself in the midst if what had once been a shipyard. Most likely the marina.

"Yuck," he said, almost stepping in a pile of goo. He didn't know what the goo was, but he definitely didn't want it to be one with his sneaker. He didn't want to know what it was. 

The entire marina seemed abandoned. In the distance, half covered by a murky fog, he could make out what had to be the Brooklyn Bridge. It was in surprisingly good condition compared to the rest of the city.

"Rachel?" he called. "Coalmeer? Marco?" He was about to start shouting when he heard _something_ moving around near the water. Quietly, Jake crept forward.

A figure, dressed entirely in rags, was kneeling on the edge of a platform that stopped at the water's edge. He/she was sifting through the water, which was now a rust color. The color looked familiar, but Jake couldn't place it. 

The sun, which felt as if it had been set on stun, was beginning to go down. Jake knew that at night, everything cooled down. He needed to find shelter before then. He'd discarded the Yeerk suit, and was now wearing just the white T-shirt and navy blue pants that he had underneath it. 

Cautiously, Jake crept forward. He tried to be perfectly calm and quiet, but he must have given himself away somehow. The figure suddenly froze, looked around frantically, then dashed away. "No, wait --" but the figure was gone.

Strange, he thought. Who was that? He didn't look like a Controller. And what was he looking for?

His curiosity piqued, Jake walked towards the spot where the person had been searching. He couldn't see anything underneath the murky rust-red surface of the water, so he slid his hands into it. He wondered what had made the water that color. Once again, the color looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. 

Jake's hands brushed against something smooth and hard, and he drew in a deep breath. He grasped the object and began to pick it up. At the same time, he noticed something unusual about the rocks the water had washed up.

They were all the same color -- white. Some were tinged slightly with water, showing that they had washed up recently. Many of them were in the same shape, although they ranged in size. Jake looked closer at one. Still holding the object he'd picked up with one hand, he used to other to pull the rock out of the sand.

He looked at the rock. Then he looked at it again. A picture popped into his mind, from health class. He remembered the large skeleton model that his teacher had placed in the front of the room. 

This 'rock' was identical to the skeleton's upper arm bone. Jake quickly dropped it, at the same time looking at what he'd picked up.

"Ohmigod!" he gasped, dropping it the ground and standing up.

The skull grinned up at him.

Those aren't rocks, he realized, they're bones. Hundreds and hundreds of bones. And the water --

He realized why the water was tinged red.

It'd been stained by blood.

Jake stood there, completely frozen. And, for some reason, he stared at the shadow of the bridge in the distance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where am I?

Those were the first words that popped into Rachel's head when she opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was losing the guards and demorphing. She'd gone to find Jake, but had tripped over a large rock. 

I must have been knocked out, she realized. But how did I get here?

"You're awake."

Startled, Rachel looked over at the person. It was an old woman. No, not so old. She was probably in her late forties or early fifties, but the tiredness on her face made her seem older. Rachel tried to sit up, but her head hurt too much.

"Don't try to get up," the woman said gently. "That fall you took was pretty bad. You've been unconscious for a few hours. Are you hungry?"

Rachel realized that she hadn't eaten anything since early that morning. "Yes," she said. 

The woman nodded and started spooning something from a pot into a bowl. "Here," she said, propping up Rachel and handing her the bowl. "It's best if I don't tell you what it is."

"I don't really care what it is, so long as it's edible," Rachel joked as she shoved a spoonful of the broth into her mouth. As she ate, she thought of some questions to ask the woman. "Where am I?" 

"You're at my home," the woman replied, "in the basement of what used to be Julliard." Rachel's eyes widened, recognizing the name of the famous ballet school. "What's your name?" 

"Rachel," Rachel replied. "And yours?"

"I'm Kristy," the woman replied. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you a new Controller?"

"Huh?" Rachel glanced down at the suit she was still wearing. "Oh. No! I'm not a Controller. I'm a spy, actually."

Kristy's eyes lit up. "A spy?"

"Are you a Controller?" Rachel asked suspiciously.

Kristy shook her head. "Just a refugee who takes pity on any poor soul. You seemed to be in danger, so I decided to help you. If you had been a Controller, I would've held you until the Yeerk died, and then adopted you."

"You do this on a regular basis?" Rachel wondered. Kristy seemed pretty certain about what she was saying. 

"A few times," Kristy answered impishly. Rachel found herself immediately liking this person.

"Do you live here alone?" Rachel asked.

"No," Kristy said, shaking her head. "Shane lives here with me."

"Who's Shane?" 

"I'm Shane," a voice said from the doorway.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How many times do I have to say it?" Tobias demanded. "Go _slowly_! The last thing we want is this place to collapse. Now take it easy. Steady, steady! There! Now get it on its end."

Having fun?

Tobias looked up to see Ax making his way along the side of the tunnel. "Huge fun," Tobias said sarcastically. "Added to the fact that I'm starving, and I'd say this would be the equivalent of when my uncle used to come home drunk and mistake our house for a gym and me for a punching bag."

Ax laughed. Go eat then, he said. I'm here to relieve you.

"What's our time?" Tobias asked.

About twenty-five minutes, Ax answered. Now go.

Tobias, relieved, thanked his friend and made his way out of the tunnel and down to the cafeteria. There, he found Tom and Carson, as well as Cassie, eating hurriedly.

"Slow down before you hurt yourselves," Tobias said, setting his tray down next to Cassie's and pulling up a chair. "We've got hundreds of volunteers -- you guys can take a break."

"Where's Ax?" Carson asked.

Tobias looked at him. "He relieved me in the tunnel. I guess Andalites don't need to eat as often as us humans."

Tom was the only one not eating. "Do you know if there's been any word from the platoon?"

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked, taking a sip of water.

Tom straightened up. "They didn't send a transmission on time," he said. "I'm worried."

"I'm sure they're all right," Tobias said, but deep down inside he started to get worried, too. Had something happened to the platoon? Had something happened to Rachel?

"There's Imoteo," Cassie said suddenly. "Maybe he knows something." Quickly she got up and hurried over to the Andalite.

Carson, Tom, and Tobias looked at each other silently. Then Tobias glanced at the food on his tray. He picked up an apple. "You know what?"

"What?"

"Marco's right," Tobias said. "This _is_ an abnormal apple. No soft spots or anything. In fact," he used a knife to slice it in half and held it up for inspection, "there aren't even any seeds."

Tom and Carson just rolled their eyes, but they were both grinning. Tobias was smiling, too, until Cassie came over. Her expression made all of them solemn. "What did Imoteo say?" Carson asked.

Cassie sat down. "There's no sign of them," she said. "Lieutenant Thomas has been trying to contact them for almost an hour. 

"Just a few minutes ago, the signals stopped altogether. Not only were they not answering, but the communicator has been destroyed."

Suddenly no one felt like eating.

Tobias pushed his chair back. "I'm going to have a 'talk' with Galuit."

"I'm coming with you," Cassie said.

"Me, too," Tom replied. Carson just got up and followed them out of the cafeteria.

Chapter Six

"Why didn't you tell us our friends were missing?" Tobias demanded. The four of them had just stormed into the command center, and Tobias practically had smoke coming out of his ears.

Galuit looked at him calmly. At this moment we're not entirely sure _what_ happened. And, as you can see, we've got our own crisis at this moment.

"I don't care about some stupid tunnel!" Tobias growled. "Rachel, Jake, and Marco, not to mention Coalmeer, Breeyar, and Aci, are lost somewhere in a Yeerk controlled territory! They could be in Yeerk hands at this very minute! They could be being forced to tell the Yeerks everything they know about the AAA!"

I very much doubt that.

"Why?" Cassie asked. "Why do you doubt that?" 

Because, Galuit said, every member of the AAA had taken a solemn oath of silence. To break that silence is to be dead.

"You mean that, rather than answer questions, Breeyar would have them all killed?" Tom asked in low voice. Carson's eyes were wide.

To put it bluntly, yes. 

"Sir!" Garcia shouted. "There's a problem with the South tunnel."

Galuit immediately forgot about the four angry people in front of him. What's the problem?

"It collapsed," Garcia said. "No one was buried, but there's a chamber inside. And there are at least a dozen people inside that."

Have any of them been identified?

"The person calling in the collapse was Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil."

Tobias ran out of the room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rachel looked at the person calling himself Shane. "Hi," he said, stepping into the room. "I see you've met Aunt Kristy."

"She's your aunt?" Rachel asked. It was the only thing she could think of, because she couldn't help noticing that Shane was incredibly cute. Right away, though, she discarded the thought. The last she wanted was to be thinking about someone other than Tobias.

Shane laughed. "Not really. My parents were killed in the massacres of 26 when I was ten. My mother hid me in a cupboard when the Yeerks came for us. Aunt Kristy found me when I was twelve, and took me in. So I guess you could say she's my 'adopted' aunt."

"Oh," Rachel said. "So, uh, how old are you now?"

"I just turned sixteen last week," Shane replied. "How about you? Where're you from, what's your name, how old are you?"

"Like I was telling Kristy, my name is Rachel," Rachel said. "I'm fourteen, and I'm a spy."

"For or against the Yeerks?" Shane asked.

"Against," Rachel said automatically. "That's why I'm wearing this hot thing."

"I have something you wear instead of that," Kristy said quickly.

"That's okay," Rachel said. "I've got something on underneath." Quickly she discarded the uniform. She felt a lot more comfortable in the navy blue pants and white shirt.

"So, if you're not a spy for the Yeerks, who are you a spy for?" Shane asked, setting the bag he'd been carrying down.

"I work for the AAA," Rachel replied. "In Buffalo. I came here with a platoon in order to destroy the Kandrona that's being installed, but we were discovered. I think three of us were captured. I'm here. That leaves Jake, Coalmeer, and Marco unaccounted for."

Kristy looked at Shane. "Perhaps we can help you find your friends," she said. "I know of an excellent tracker who despises the Yeerks. Shane knows how to contact her."

"Do you think she can help?" Rachel asked eagerly. "My friend Marco might be kind of hard to find. He separated himself from the group shortly before we were discovered."

Shane nodded. "If anyone can find your friends, she can. I'll be back, Aunt Kristy. Nice to meet you, Rachel."

"Nice to meet you," Rachel said as he left.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They've been moved," Cat said. She and Marco were standing at the spot where the platoon had been discovered. "Three were captured. The other three moved off in separate directions."

Marco didn't ask how she knew this. After all, she was psychic, like him. And he was certainly picking up on what had happened. Unlike her, though, he couldn't figure out the details. "I'm picking up on something, but I'm not very trained at this. Powerful, yes -- trained, no."

Cat sighed. "I have no way of knowing who was taken and who escaped, or where they ended up. We'll have to follow the separate trails."

"You mean, you'll still help me?" Marco asked, surprised.

She looked at him. He found it increasingly annoying that he still didn't know what she looked like, since she still wore the hood and cloak. "I promised that I would help you find your friends, didn't I?"

"Yes --"

Suddenly she looked off into the distance. So did Marco. A light was glinting off something about a mile away. "Come on," Cat said, grabbing his arm. "Someone's calling me."

"What, like the Bat signal or something?"

"What?"

"You've never heard of Batman?" Marco asked. "Never mind."

Cat sighed. "Just, come on!" 

Chapter Seven

Marco wasn't entirely sure where Cat was leading him to, but eventually he found himself on a roof. In the center of the roof was a large mirror, the sides jagged and broken, and a flashlight in front of it. He realized that this must have been where the signal came from.

Cat leaped nimbly onto the rooftop, and Marco followed not-so-gracefully. In fact, he cried out in pain when his kneecap colliding with the concrete roof. "You should be more careful," Cat said without looking at him. "Who's here?"

A boy only a few years older than both of them appeared. "Thanks for coming, Cataluna," the boy said.

Cat relaxed. "Hello, Shane," she said, and for a moment Marco thought she actually sounded pleasant. But that was against her religion, wasn't it? He got to his feet. "Has your aunt found another person in need of help?"

"This time, it's only a girl a couple years younger than me," Shane replied. "She says she's a spy for something called the AAA, and that she was separated --"

"Was her name Rachel or Aci?" Marco quickly interrupted.

"Rachel," Shane replied.

"Friend of yours?" Cat asked dryly.

"You could say that," Marco said, grinning. "Where is she?"

Shane made a "follow me" motion and headed for the door that lead from the roof of the building to the interior.

Something moved behind Marco. Cat glanced over her shoulder. 

"Get down!" she shouted, shoving him aside as a Dracon beam sliced through the air. It barely missed her shoulder, and she and Marco collapsed in a heap. 

Behind them, a couple dozen Hork-Bajir and other assorted Controllers drew their weapons and charged onto the roof.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake wanted to get as far away from that marina as possible. As he ran, he remembered something Coalmeer had said earlier that day -- had it only been that morning? -- about Yeerks shooting and killing hundreds of people, then throwing them off the Brooklyn Bridge. Aci had said they weren't rumors.

Now Jake had proof.

And all he wanted was to get away from the horrific site of hundreds of thousands of bones, and the blood-stained river. 

He was so into running that he didn't notice the large rock in front of him until he tripped over it. "Ooof!" he cried, throwing out his hands to block his fall. "Ow!"

Jake?

"Coalmeer?" Sure enough, the Andalite scientist was crouched down between two slabs of concrete and sheet metal. Jake quickly picked himself up. "Are you okay?"

I think my leg's broken or something, Coalmeer said weakly. I was running from the Yeerks when I fell. I don't think they saw where I landed. I was unconscious for a few minutes, and when I came to, no one was around. Where are the others?

"I don't know," Jake said truthfully, making his way over to Coalmeer. "I think Aci, and possibly Breeyar and Geoff, were captured. Rachel and I got separated, and who knows where Marco ran off to? He practically disappeared the moment we were in the city."

You don't seem to worried.

Jake knelt down beside Coalmeer and wished that Cassie was here. She'd know more about this stuff than he would. "Ever since Marco found out he was psychic, I've learned that he always has a good reason for everything he does."

You mean he's got a good reason to complain about the food? Coalmeer laughed, then cried out in pain as Jake touched the break. Broken, he gasped. Definitely broken.

"Okay," Jake said quickly. "Can you walk on three legs?"

Only if you help balance me.

"Let's get you up," he said. "We can't stay here."

From somewhere nearby, a barrage of shots were being fired. "What the --?"

Someone's in trouble! Coalmeer said. Leave me here. I'm going to see if I have enough energy to morph, and then I'll catch up with you.

"I'm not leaving," Jake said automatically.

Yes, you are, Coalmeer insisted. You're an Animorph. A warrior. I'm just a scientist. I can hold my own one-on-one, but in battle I'm useless. If someone's in trouble, you have to go.

Jake sighed. The last thing he wanted was to get into a battle where he was probably going to be outnumbered. Then again, what if it was Rachel or Marco or someone else who needed his help? "I wish I didn't have a conscience," he muttered as he took off, concentrating on his tiger morph even as he ran. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While all this was happening, three very unhappy members of the AAA were being kept locked up in a cold, dark cell in what must have been a prison once, but was now a temporary Yeerk headquarters.

"Why don't they just kill us?" Geoff grumbled.

They want to know what information we have, Breeyar replied.

"Then why don't they just infest us?"

Breeyar didn't have an answer to that.

However Aci, who was leaning against the wall of the cell, said, "This is a temporary base. There's no actual Yeerk pool in New York, just a small portable one. Big enough for Yeerks to reenergize in -- not big enough for Yeerks without hosts to wait. Chances are one of two things is going to happen -- they'll import some Yeerks for us, or they'll send us to Nine. We'll either be tortured or infested."

All this was said very calmly, without a hint of anger or fear or resentment or any other emotion that a person could possibly have. Aci was still basically getting used to showing emotion in her new body. 

"So you're saying we just wait for them to destroy us?" Geoff demanded.

"No."

Then what do we do? snapped Breeyar. You're the only one who might have any idea what's going to happen.

"We wait," Aci replied calmly.

"For what?" Geoff growled.

"Him." She pointed towards an approaching Controller. No one was paying attention to him as he knelt down. 

"Acissej?" the Controller whispered. "My name is Mada. Anad sent me."

"Hello, Mada," Aci whispered back. "What do you have for me?"

Mada glanced around, then slipped a sheet of paper between the bars. "These are the directions through the air duct that leads outside. There should be a vent in your cell. Do you see it?"

Aci nodded. She was sitting in front of it.

"Good. Both your guards are on our side. They will keep others away as you make your escape. Once outside, you have ten minutes before the motion sensors go off."

"Thank you, Mada," Aci replied. "May the Kandrona shine and strengthen you."

"And you, Acissej," Mada whispered. He nodded to the guards, and hurried away.

Geoff and Breeyar stared wide-eyed and (in Geoff's case) open-mouthed at her. "What are we waiting for?" Aci asked, oblivious to their shock. "Let's get this grate off of this thing and get out of here."

Chapter Eight

"Get off of me!" Cat growled, shoving Marco aside. 

"You're the one who jumped me!" Marco snapped. "Come on -- we have to get out of here!"

Cat let out a throaty growl and rolled to her feet. She pulled part of her robe aside and pulled out a large gun. Marco grabbed her arm. "This is no time for a fight!"

"This is a perfect time for a fight," she retorted, pushing him aside and aiming the gun. 

Marco cursed under his breath. If they moved now they could get inside the building before those things reached them. But no -- Senorita Psychopath had to stay and blow them away with a bazooka. She's crazy," Marco muttered. "I guess this means I have to save her butt."

Marco dove behind the remains of a large wooden crate and gritted his teeth. Glancing once more around the crate, he saw Cat fire once. The shot sliced through one Controller, hit another point blank, and caused such an explosion that about ten more fell to their knees after getting blind-sided by shrapnel.

"Dammit," he swore. "She's gonna blow us all up if she doesn't quit it." Another shot, another explosion. Marco began to morph.

His arms doubled, tripled in size as course black fur spread over his body. His clothes were tight enough that they morphed along with him -- thank goodness -- and the red Yeerk suit that he was still wearing suddenly turned black. Leathery skin grew across his chest, his hands, his feet, his face. His eyes shrank slightly, his forehead grew out until he almost couldn't see past it. His nose flattened out, and his mouth grew in size. 

It was a morph he'd done before -- the silverback gorilla. He was used to the changes. But still, he was glad that he didn't have a mirror. 

Meanwhile, Cat was taking shot after shot when suddenly her gun ran out. When she pulled the trigger, all she heard was a soft _click. _"Great," she groaned. She reached into her cloak and tried to find another clip. 

She wasn't aware of the person sneaking up behind her, Dracon beam in hand. 

Suddenly, a vision flashed in her head, and she spun around so fast that her hood slid off her head. But the gun was already aimed, there wasn't time for her to dodge. For the first time she stood there, frozen. Completely frozen. 

"Huurrrruuuuaahhh!" The deep, muddy voice echoed through the silence of the moment as a large gorilla came charging out from behind a pile of wood. He grabbed the gun, yanked it out of the Human-Controller's hand, then connected his other fist with the Controller's chin. The Controller's head snapped back from the impact, and he slumped to the ground. Cat couldn't tell if he was dead or not, and frankly, she didn't care.

The remained dozen enemies started to reach for their weapons, but suddenly thought twice about it when they spotted an extremely large (and extremely mad) grizzly bear pushing its way through the roof doors. Turning around, they tried to retreat, only to find that their only escape route was blocked by a very bored looking tiger. But when the tiger drew back his mouth and revealed two rows of large, sharp teeth, every single person recoiled and began to shake.

Cat calmly walked over to each one, and with a quick slam to the head, knocked them all unconscious. "Shane," she said to the boy hiding behind Rachel the bear, "go get your aunt. We can't stay here."

"Yes, Cataluna."

She turned back around, and her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Marco, who was eliminating the last traces of the gorilla. Jake and Rachel were also beginning to demorph. 

Slowly, Cat drew in a deep breath. "What are you?" she asked cautiously.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tobias, where are you _going_?" Cassie exclaimed, running to catch up with her friend. "Ax is trapped in that tunnel collapse, and the Yeerk line will be here in ten minutes!"

Tobias turned and looked her in the eye. "Ax has plenty of people looking for him. At this moment, Rachel and the others have none."

"So you're going to do what? Run to New York and try to find them? It took them _three days_ to get there, you idiot." Cassie's eyes narrowed. She couldn't believe how stupid Tobias was being. "Three days. Even if you fly, it'll take you a day at least. We need you here. Right now."

Tobias' eyes flashed. "Rachel needs me, too. She could be in danger!" 

"But you _don't know that_," Cassie snapped. She breathed deeply. "God, Tobias, don't you think I'm worried about Jake, too? The thought of not knowing where he is, or what he's doing, or even if he's controlling himself is terrifying me. But we made a promise to the AAA that we'd help them. We can't break that promise."

Tobias opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly he snapped it shut. "You're right," he muttered. "We did make a promise."

"We have to help with the tunnel," Cassie said softly, putting her hand on his arm. He just looked at her. For a moment, they were silent. Then Cassie said, "Something else is bothering you. What?"

"It's nothing," Tobias started to say, but he was stopped when he saw the expression on her face. She knew something was up. "It's Galuit," he said finally.

"What about him?"

"He offered me -- us -- a job," Tobias replied. "He wants us to join the AAA permanently. I told him I had to talk to Jake first."

"And did you?" 

Tobias shook his head. "It's been chaos ever since."

"You're not sure if you want to join, are you?" Cassie spoke softly, her gaze never wavering.

"I'm not sure if I want to spend the rest of my life fighting the Yeerks," Tobias clarified. "I mean, I know I was all for it back before the Elysia thing and all that, but ever since I came face-to-face with my parents, I don't know. I'm not sure if I could handle a combat situation."

Cassie wasn't sure what to say to this. She'd always expected Tobias to be willing to fight for a cause he believed in. Now he was having the same doubts that she, and possibly Marco, had been having from the very beginning. And something about his change in attitude made her wonder what she wanted as well.

__

"Would all immediate personnel come to the bridge at this time? I repeat, would all immediate personnel come to the bridge at this time?"

Cassie glanced at the bridge. "You know, maybe it won't be so bad," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, these guys seem to know what they're doing."

Tobias looked at her. She shrugged. "We don't need Jake to decide everything for us."

"You're saying --?"

"I'm saying that they just called for immediate personnel," Cassie replied. "I'm curious about what they want. And when you think about it, and Animorph is the perfect person to join the Andalite-Animorph Alliance."

"Jake'll kill you."

Cassie shrugged. "It's my choice."

"I can't let you do this alone."

"That's your choice."

Tobias glanced over at the entrance to the command center. Tom and Carson were standing outside it, trying to look like they belonged there, but they kept stealing glances over in their direction. 

"You're right, it is my choice," Tobias replied. He thought for a minute. "Okay. Let's go."

Cassie looked at him. "Are you serious?"

Tobias nodded. "If Rachel and Jake and even Marco can risk their lives going on a seek-and-destroy mission, then the least I can do is help protect this base."

Together they walked towards the command center.

Chapter Nine

This has got to be the most humiliating thing I have ever experienced, Breeyar complained as he, Geoff, and Aci moved through the air duct. 

"How do you figure?" Aci asked.

Well, look at this. I'm following behind two humans, one of who used to be a Yeerk, on my hands and knees -- which, I have to admit, isn't at all comfortable. If anyone finds out about this --

"Relax, Breeyar," Geoff called back. "I won't tell if you won't. Besides, there are worse things."

I can't imagine what they might be.

"How about having a slug shoved in your ear?"

An excellent point, Geoff.

"I think we're there." Aci stopped crawling and felt along in the darkness. Her fingers touched a metal grate. Air was filtering in through it. "There are air currents here. This is it."

How do we get it off? It took all three of us last time. It's too small in here for us all to get to work.

"Back up," Aci said. Geoff and Breeyar somehow managed to back up several feet. Aci turned herself around so that she was feet first towards the air duct. "The minute I hit this thing," she said, "we're going to have exactly ten minutes to get to the water. We're on an island, remember?"

"Yeah," Geoff said. 

"Breeyar, can you swim?"

Not extremely fast, but enough so that I don't drown. Once I hit the water, I will morph into something water-capable.

"Okay then. On my mark." She took a deep breath. "One. Two. THREE!" On three she kicked out both her legs, using as much of her strength as she dared. Her feet connected with the flimsy metal grate. Almost immediatley the screws gave way and the entire grate popped off the wall. Bracing herself, Aci glanced out the hole.

"The water's directly below us," she called back. "We're going to need to start swimming the moment we hit. It's about a twenty foot drop."

"Oh, great," Geoff muttered. "Good thing I learned how to swim."

Will you just move already? Breeyar shouted.

Aci nodded and glanced down again. Taking a deep breath, she jumped feet first out of the air duct. For a few seconds, there was nothing but air. Then her feet sliced through the water. Her body disappeared without so much as a splash.

Go! 

Geoff jumped after Aci, forming a perfect swan dive into the red water. He took a breath just before his head was submerged. Above him, Breeyar was rapidly morphing to human.

WEE-OOO WEE-OOO WEE-OOO WEE-OOO. The sirens blared noisily as guards began racing around to the side. Breeyar, now human, breathed deeply and jumped. He couldn't see Aci or Geoff, and he wondered if they had survived the drop.

WEE-OOO WEE-OOO WEE-OOO WEE-OOO. 

The guards reached the side of the building seconds after Breeyar disappeared beneath the surface. "They must have jumped!" one of them exclaimed. "Fire at the water!"

Every Controller let loose with a rapid series of shots. 

"_ENOUGH!_" The command was heard even above the loud gunfire. Sytsirk pushed his way through the crowd. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he roared. 

"The prisoners escaped," answered the guard who had given the command to fire. "We had to shoot them."

"You don't even know where they landed!" Sytsirk shouted. "Did it occur to you that, while shooting the prisoners, you might accidently hit the equiptment stored down there? Without that equiptment, we don't stand a chance of refitting this water body into the Pool. Without the Pool, the plans for the New York Base are _useless_!"

"Yes sir," the guard muttered. 

"Now get back inside and get back to work!"

"What about the prisoners?" 

Sytsirk glared at the Hork-Bajir that had spoken. "I will deal with them," he sneered. "Now follow your orders!" 

Slowly, the crowd desipated. Soon Sytsirk was left alone on the cliff. 

He looked out over the water. "I will find you, Acissej," he whispered. "I just don't know what I'll do with you when I do."

He turned and entered the prison.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The water was calm near the ruined marina. A rag-clothed figure sat on a large rock, staring dully at the water. 

Suddenly the surface began to churn. The figure watched, stunned, as a head burst through the water. It was immiedeately followed by another, then another.

The figure stood up and hurried to its hiding place. Peering uncertainly around the wall, the figure could overhear the conversatoin.

"So, Breeyar. What do we do now?"

Chapter Ten

Cat stood in the middle of the roof, listening patiently as Jake explained the Animorphs to her. Marco was keeping an eye on the hostages, which Shane had tied up and gagged. They kept glaring at everyone. 

Actually, Marco was only half paying attention to the hostages. He was mostly staring at Cat's face, now that he could actually see it. 

She was about five foot three, with pale skin, auburn hair that came downt to about the middle of her neck, and eyes that seemed to see more than just what was visible. He recognized the look: Loren O'Conner-Shamtul, Tobias' mother, had the same look in her eyes. Marco's Grandmother Elena had also had the same look. And, whenever he looked in the mirror, Marco saw the look in his eyes as well.

It was the look of the Third Eye -- the look of psychics.

She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, but there was a certain aspect of her than drew Marco. The way she carried herself, like she was telling the whole world that she could take care of things on her own, that she didn't need any help. 

"Hey, Gorilla Boy, wake up."

Marco blinked, then noticed Rachel next to him. "Huh?"

"If you stared any longer you'd be burning holes in the back of her head," Rachel commented. "What'd you do with that suit?"

"Threw it over the side of the building," Marco replied, finally managing to turn his attention away from Cat. "What's up?"

"According to Jake, Coalmeer's injured. Shane went to go see if he was all right -- he should be back shortly." Rachel looked over the side of the roof. "Look at this place. I still can't believe that this was once one of the largest cities in the world."

"Yeah, well, the world's changed," Marco sighed. "For better or for worse, I haven't figured it out yet. In fact --"

FLASH!

"Oh no, not again," Marco groaned, opening his eyes. Rachel was looking at him. "How long was I out for?"

"A few seconds," Rachel replied. She looked over Marco's shoulder. "Here comes Wondergirl."

Cat didn't seem to acknowledge Rachel's presence. She focused her gaze on Marco. "You felt it." It was a statement, not a question.

Marco shuddered. "I _saw_ it," he whispered.

"Saw what?" Jake asked, coming over.

"Hundreds of people," Marco said in a soft voice. "Crying, panicking, screaming. Then silence. Eerie silence. A minute later, hundreds of splashes."

Jake looked grim. "The massacre," he said. "Coalmeer and Aci mentioned it earlier, remember?"

"I thought it was just a rumor," Rachel commented.

Cat shook her head. "It's no rumor." Her voice took on an strange, faraway tone, as if she were ten miles away instead of ten feet. Her gaze focused on the location of the Brooklyn Bridge, although it was no longer visible in the dark of the night.

"Why'd you get a vision from some long-dead death trap?" Rachel wondered. 

Marco bit his lip. "I think -- I think we're supposed to go there. Something is supposed to happen, and we need to be there when it does."

"Be _where_?" Rachel snapped. 

Cat answered, "The final resting place. Where the bodies washed up."

"Only we don't know where it is," Marco sighed.

Jake looked like he was sick. "I do," he managed to say.

Chapter Eleven

The situation has reached a critical standpoint, Galuit said from the front of the command center. The Yeerk forces are due to be passing through in ten minutes, at least. There is no way we can successfully reach the chamber that a dozen of our personnel and citizens are trapped in. Therefore, there's only one possible way.

We must send a team topside to enter the chamber through the tunnel door.

"I thought that wasn't up yet," someone said.

It's halfway up, Galuit replied. The inner mechanisms aren't in operation, but the door can be opened from the outside.

"Where is this door?" Tom asked.

I'll let Officer Kishi explain.

A young Japanese-American nodded. A diagram was placed on the screen. "As you can see," she began, "the new Southern tunnel was placed directly seventeen miles from the old tunnel. It is about nine miles shorter and eight feet wider, so the doorway is considerably larger. We have concealed the doorway within an old, run-down tool shed just behind the remains of the former Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic."

"The Yeerks' base is in the downtown sector of Buffalo. The line of arsenal will pass directly over the chamber at about approximately 2115," Garcia said. Tobias frowned, glancing at his watch. "For those of you not used to the Zarinian 30-hour day that this base runs on, that's equal to 6:15 PM."

"I need a new watch," Tobias muttered. Cassie smiled slightly.

Galuit resumed control of the meeting. We're going to need to work fast on this one, team, he said. We have to somehow keep the arsenal line away from the tunnel in enough time to get our people out of there. So we need two groups of volunteers: one for a distraction, and one for a rescue mission.

Tobias raised his hand. Yes?

"Um, just to be on the safe side, how much time do we have to get them out of that chamber? I mean, how much air do you think they have in there, and how long will it last them?"

Galuit stared. He hadn't fully thought about that part of the problem. He turned to Kishi, who was in charge of the structural intake of the base. "According to Aximili, who we've been maintaining contact with via radio, the chamber is about twenty feet long. He also said the sides collapsed in, so we have about a one and a half mile width. The ceiling is ten feet from the floor. Take that and divide it equally among twelve people, and they'd have about thirty minutes before they have to go to emergency supply. There are only six oxygen tanks in that part of the tunnel, so they'd have to have two people at a time. A standard tank has thirty minutes of air in them for one person."

"So they have about forty-five minutes," Tobias said.

"Less," Kishi interjected. "They've been in that tunnel for about ten minutes now."

A murmur rose up from the crowd.

Galuit clapped his hands for attention. You heard the lady, he said. We've got thirty-five minutes to rescue our people. We have ten -- no, eight minutes to head off the arsenal. Split yourselves into three teams -- one to stay here, one to rescue, and one to distract. And try not to waste too much time. Once you've decided where you think you'd be the most useful, report to the following officers: For base command, Chief Adam Taylor. For rescue team, Cadet Cassandra Hill. And for distraction attack, Cadet Thomas McCain. He glanced at the clock on the wall. You have one minute.

Chapter Twelve

Coalmeer had successfully managed to morph and demorph, so although his leg was a little sore, it was no longer broken. He and Shane ran into the rest of the group about halfway to the building.

"What's going on?" Coalmeer asked, having morphed to human.

Jake sighed. "Marco had a vision," he said. "We have to go."

"Where are the hostages?" Shane wanted to know.

"You're aunt and Cat stayed behind to keep an eye on them," Rachel replied. "For some reason, Cat refused to come with us."

"Strange," Shane commented. "That's not like the Cataluna at all."

"How'd she get that name?" Marco asked as they began to walk towards the marina. "I mean, it can't be her real name."

Shane shrugged. "That's what everyone called her. She came to Old Manhattan about two years ago. No one knows where she came from or how she survived, but she certainly seems to know how to take care of herself. And she seems to have dedicated her life to making the Yeerks miserable."

Marco raised his eyebrows. "Interesting," he commented under his breath. No one heard him.

The trek to the marina was even harder than before, since the sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped significantly. Not to mention that practically none of them had had anything to eat. "What I wouldn't give for a meat byproduct right now," Marco grumbled. 

"Don't start," Jake warned. He'd heard Marco's complaints about the artificially grown food supply that the AAA made in their laboratories. He'd also gotten quite annoyed with his constant complaining. At least he and Rachel aren't fighting, Jake thought. That was one thing, at least.

"I wonder how to base is holding up," Rachel commented a moment or two later. "Do you think the Yeerks have started searching for the South tunnel?"

"The former South tunnel," Coalmeer corrected. "And I'm not sure. Everything seemed calm when we left. Then again, that was almost four days ago. Anything could've happened."

Shane listened curiously. "Do you all work for the AAA?"

Jake nodded. "Well, sort of. Coalmeer's one of their doctors, and Marco, Rachel, and I are kind of acting personnel."

Coalmeer looked surprised. "I thought Galuit offered you a position," he said.

"He didn't talk to me about it," Jake said, confused. "Did he mention it to you guys?"

Marco and Rachel shook their heads. "Maybe he said something to Cassie, Tobias, or Ax," Rachel suggested.

"Maybe," Jake said. 

Suddenly Shane stopped. "We're here," he said. They could just make out the sound of water lapping gently against the sides of the piers and the shoreline. 

"Oh, goody," Marco commented sarcastically. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you mean, the prisoners have escaped?" Nine shouted at Sytsirk's hologram. Sytsirk found himself incredibly grateful that Nine couldn't touch him. "All three of them?"

"Yes, my liege," Sytsirk said. "It appears that they escaped through the air ducts. Someone must have given them a map or a diagram."

Nine narrowed its eyes. "Who?"

Sytsirk shrugged. "We are questioning everyone under my command," he replied. "If there's a leak in the department, we'll find it. As you know, Acissej was last considered to be a ringleader for the YPM."

Nine glared at him. "That speculation will never leave this room," it growled. "You know that there is no concrete evidence that the Yeerk Peace Movement even exists. Therefore, we are not to say anything pertaining to its existence."

"We all know it's there," Sytsirk protested.

"We all _think_ we know," Nine interjected. "However, we're having a hell of a time proving it. Every time we think we get an informant, that informant winds up missing. Witnesses to the Peace Movement are disappearing. Some of our hosts are walking out right under our noses, and we never see them again!"

"Including my former host, Tom," Sytsirk muttered. 

"What was that, Sytsirk?" 

"Nothing, sir," Sytsirk said quickly. 

"Good." Nine leaned back in its chair. "The Kandrona is on enroute to your location," it said. "Are you prepared to receive it?"

"Yes."

"Then this report is finished." Nine leaned forward and reached to press a button. "May the Kandrona shine and strengthen you, Sytsirk."

"And you, Nine of the Council," replied Sytsirk just before his hologram disappeared.

Nine leaned back in the chair once again and rested its hand on its chair. "I must find the YPM," it muttered. "I must prove its existence." 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sytsirk closed the channel between him and Nine, then motioned Ihsik forward. "The Kandrona is on its way," he said to his friend. "Prepare a team to go and meet it at the dock."

"The ship is arriving at the dock?" 

Sytsirk nodded. "Near the site of the bridge."

"There are reports that the remains are beginning to wash ashore."

"Do you think I really care about some long-dead bones of refugees?" Sytsirk growled.

Ihsik shook his head, "No sir."

"Good. Have all the search teams reported in?"

"All except Team 18."

"Where were they last located?"

"It's impossible to say."

"Find them."

"Of course." Ihsik saluted his commander and hurried away.

Sytsirk continued to stare out the window. He could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge. Both places of death and destruction.

Then, for some reason, he couldn't bear to look anymore.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cat calmly kicked one of the hostages. "This has got to be the most boring thing I've ever done," she commented.

Kristy was sitting calmly on an old chair. "Then why did you stay?"

"Oh, yeah, like I really wanted to go visit some old graveyard." Cat growled. "Sorry, but that's just not for me."

"You had the vision has well as the boy," Kristy reminded her. "Perhaps you are meant to visit this 'old graveyard', as you put it."

"Whatever." Cat continued to kick the hostage. There wasn't anything he could do about it, since she was also pointing a Dracon beam at him. "Do you think we can get these Yeerks out of these people's heads?"

"We can certainly try," Kristy replied.

Cat glanced out towards the marina. She tried to focus on something other than the bridge. "I wonder if they're all right," she whispered.

Then, suddenly, she spotted _something_ in the distance. "What is that?"

Chapter Thirteen

"Why couldn't we have at least brought flashlights?" Tobias grumbled. "I can't see a thing."

Cassie sighed. "Because, Tobias, if we brought flashlights, than the Yeerks would see us. This is a rescue attempt, not a lead-them-to-us attempt. We're trying to be inconspicuous."

Tobias glanced over at Carson. He tapped the map to let him know what he wanted. "About . . . we should be there."

Cassie stopped. "Hold up, everyone." She turned to Carson, who looked up. His face was just barely visible, since he had a small light to read the map by. "There's nothing here," she said.

Carson shrugged. "This is what the map reads," he pronounced. "Not my fault."

"I didn't say it was," Cassie muttered. Tobias glanced at her. Cassie very spoke like that.

Garcia pulled out her radio. "Kishi, this is Garcia," she whispered. "We're at the spot. Where the heck is it? Over."

The radio crackled, then hissed. "There should be a large oak tree next to the shed," Kishi replied. "It should be just to your left. Over."

Tobias walked to the left. "I'm going left. Guess what? There's no -- ow!"

"SHHH!"

Tobias rubbed his arm gingerly. "Never mind. I found it."

"We found it," Garcia relayed the message. "What's the code?"

Kishi quickly relayed the code. "You get three tries at opening it, then it shuts you out completely," she reminded them. "Don't worry. As long as you know the pattern, you'll be fine. Kishi, out."

Garcia flipped off the radio and slipped it back into her belt. "Carson, shine that light over here," she said. "Everybody, be ready when this thing moves. I don't want anyone getting crushed." She knelt down in front of the door lock. "Let's hope this works."

Chapter Fourteen

Another shower of dirt fell from above. Ax blinked several times to try and avoid getting more soil into his stalk eyes. How's everyone doing? he asked.

A young seventeen-year-old citizen coughed loudly. "It's getting harder to breath," he whispered weakly. "How much air do we have left?"

Ax tried to calculate quickly. He glanced at the boy. About five more minutes, he said apologetically. We're going to have to start distributing the air tanks soon.

"I'll help," the boy said. He motioned to the girl next to him. "Come on. We have to help Ax."

Ax slowly lifted the first tank off the side of the tunnel. I'm afraid I don't know much about human oxygen tanks, he said sheepishly.

The girl took it from him. "Don't worry," she said softly. "My father helped design these, so that they would hold more air. I know how to turn them on."

The boy, who's name was Charlie, turned to everyone. "Come on!" he said. "I know everyone's tired and scared, but we need you to partner up and come get a tank. Don't start them until we say so, though. You don't want to run short."

As they began distributing the tanks, the girl, Stacey, said, "Make sure you take even breaths with your partner. This is no time for any of us to get greedy. We have to make this last as long as possible."

Ax was the last person to get a tank. Suddenly he stopped. Who didn't get one? he called. He had realized that there was no one for him to share with. 

A hand went up. "I didn't," a weak voice said. Ax looked a spotted a kid sitting in a wheelchair. "They wanted me to help because I'm real good a lifting things," the boy explained. "All that upper body physical therapy."

Quickly, Ax settled himself next to the boy. What's your name?

"Jackie," Jackie said, coughing loudly.

Well, Jackie, I'm Ax. Here. Why don't you take the first minute?

Jackie smiled and gratefully let Ax put the mask on his face. "Thanks," he said, his voice muffled. He gripped Ax's hand.

Ax nodded, and once again dirt sprinkled down from the ceiling above. They had fifteen more minutes.

Chapter Fifteen

At the marina, Geoff, Breeyar, and Aci had taken up shelter in a large box. "Why do you think the water was red?" Geoff asked uncertainly.

Breeyar just shook his head. I'm not sure, he replied. He'd stayed in morph for most of the two hour limit, but had needed to resume his Andalite form, or else risk getting caught.

Aci remained silent.

"Aci?" Geoff asked. "Do you know?"

She nodded.

"What happened?"

She turned to look at Geoff, and smiled humorlessly. "It's nothing for your ears," she whispered.

Geoff suddenly looked indignant. "I had to watch my mother _die_," he growled. "I've had to watch my friends be turned into Controllers. I think I can handle it!"

Aci looked at him. "Do you really want to know?"

Just tell us, Breeyar said sharply.

"Your choice," Aci sighed. She closed her eyes. "Six years ago, there were many refugees living in the basement shelter of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and so on. The Yeerks began to round them up in groups."

Breeyar nodded. They were made into hosts. We know. We heard about it.

Aci shook her head. "They were not made in hosts." She glanced out towards the water. "They were shot and thrown off the bridge."

"The _Brooklyn_ Bridge?" Geoff squeaked. 

Aci nodded.

How do you know this? demanded Breeyar.

"I was there," Aci replied. "I tried to free some of them, but only managed to release one. A young girl, about eight years old. I don't know if any others made it out. 

"It was truly a terrifying ordeal."

Breeyar and Geoff glanced at each other. Geoff looked slightly sick.

You asked for it, Breeyar reminded him in private thought-speech. Geoff nodded, but looked no better.

Suddenly Aci tensed up. In the distance, the sound of engines could be heard. As the trio watched, bright lights appeared overhead. The engine sounds got louder. A spotlight scanned over them. Suddenly it moved back.

"They found us!" Geoff shouted.

****

TO BE CONTINUED . . . 

__

{I'm back. Okay, so I didn't endlessly chatter in this one. Sorry that it's a TBC -- I honestly didn't plan it that way. However, it's the longest fanfiction I've ever done, and I start school in three days. I wanted to put something up before then. The next part's coming soon -- as soon as I can get it finished. Until then . . . check out the preview below. Adiamo!}

Danger Zone: Part 2

The situation has become critical. The platoon has been split in half, leaving three unaccounted for. The South tunnel has collapsed, trapping Ax and eleven others in there with a very limited supply of oxygen. 

Now, thanks to a vision Marco had, the platoon (led by Jake) must go to the very marina where thousands of innocent men, women, and children lost their lives. They don't know what they'll find -- but they know it can't be good.

Meanwhile, the Yeerk arsenal is moving steadily closer to the rescue attempt on the tunnel. Will they be able to evacuate in time? They don't know. But they'll definitely try!

IN A WORLD OF FEAR AND SLAVERY, THEY ARE THE ONLY HOPE


	2. Default Chapter Title

Previously on 

****

AAA

The platoon arrived in Old New York only to be separated. Marco received a psychic call from a mysterious girl calling herself Cataluna and went off to find her. Breeyar, Geoff, and Aci were captured by Yeerk patrol only to be freed with the help of a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement. Jake discovered the final resting place of the victims of the 2026 Massacre, and Rachel made some new friends.

Meanwhile, back in Buffalo, the Yeerk arsenal is making its way slowly and surely towards where they think the South tunnel is. The tunnel was actually moved to a location, but before it is completed, the arsenal's route will run directly over it. During the effort to save the tunnel from being exposed, it collapses, trapping twelve people (including Ax) inside with a limited amount of air. Tobias and Cassie officially join the AAA as cadets without consulting Jake, and are immediately sent on a rescue mission. 

Also in Part 1: Hints are dropped of a new Yeerk base that is to be built where the remains of New York City stand. The Kandrona is about to arrive in the city, but while the transports land, they spot Breeyar, Aci, and Geoff, who were hiding in the marina. And Marco is receiving psychic cries from something apparently beyond the grave.

Danger Zone

PART TWO

Chapter One

"Sir, you should take a look at this."

Sytsirk turned and looked blankly at one of his officers. "Excuse me?" he asked, confused.

"I said, you should take a look at this."

He blinked, and stared at the Controller as if he were thinking about something else. "Really? What is it?"

His officer looked at him. "Well . . . come and see."

"Oh. Right." Sytsirk somehow managed to guide himself over to where the officer was standing, looking at a screen. He stared at it. 

"Do you see it?"

"See what?" 

His officer turned and stared at him. "Sir, those are the missing prisoners. We're picking them up via the camscan on the Bug Scout."

Sytsirk blinked. "Really?" His voice sounded vague, uninterested. "Well, then, pick them up." He turned and started walking away.

The officer stood up. "Sir?" he called. "Sir, where are you going?"

Sytsirk turned to look at him. "Just . . . to my quarters. I'm not feeling very well, Aicrag. Just . . . bring in the prisoners. Let me know when they've arrived."

Aicrag stared at his commander's retreating figure. "Yes, sir," he said, even though he was pretty sure Sytsirk didn't hear him. 

Something is seriously wrong with that guy, he thought, turning his attention back to his screen. But since Sytsirk outranked him, Aicrag didn't dare say anything. He would've gotten killed for it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake heard the Bug Scout long before he ever saw it. "Shh," he whispered to Coalmeer and Marco, who were arguing about something. Jake didn't know what, but he was betting it had something to do with the food at AAA. They ignored Jake, and continued to talk.

"SHH!" Rachel snapped, hitting Marco lightly on the head. "Shut up, already!"

"Ow," Marco complained, rubbing his head where Rachel had hit it. "Be careful!"

Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off when Shane suddenly stopped short. Since he was directly in front of her, Rachel had to kill her speed immediately or risk tripping over him. "Watch where you're going!" she hissed.

Shane looked up at the sky. "Look."

Everyone looked. 

In the distance were several pairs of lights. Faintly, they could hear the sounds of Z-space engines as the ships raced towards them. They were coming closer, almost directly at them. One of them, the closest, seemed to be sweeping along the water. Jake froze, and motioned for the others to do the same. In just a few minutes, the spotlight would hit them.

Then the ship stopped about a mile downstream, and circled back around. It continued circling over one spot. 

"They found something," Marco muttered.

Coalmeer nodded. Something that they do not wish to lose sight of.

"What could be so important that they have to keep a constant watch on?" Jake murmured. "_Who_ could be so important . . ."

RUN! GET OUT OF HERE! The thought-speak sounded in all of their heads, but it wasn't Coalmeer's. The 'voice' was deeper, roughing, more challenging. 

"Breeyar!" Rachel gasped.

"Come on!" Jake shouted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jackie wasn't holding up very well. During the minutes that Ax was using the oxygen, he would cough and gasp a lot. Ax found himself cutting his minutes short to give Jackie more air. In the back of his mind, he thanked the ancient gods of Andalite lore for creating Andalites so that they could hold their breath longer.

It'll be all right, Ax said reassuringly to the boy. As Jackie breathed, he gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly. Ax secretly wondered what the hell the AAA was thinking, sending a paralyzed person into a tunnel that had a good chance of collapsing while they were working. I'm going to have a talk with Galuit when I get out of here, he thought angrily. Then his anger subsided. _If_ I get out of here.

Stop that! he scolded himself. Don't start saying if! Of course you'll get out. Everyone will.

Another spray of dirt showered down on top of them. Ax glanced up at the ceiling.

I hope.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How much time do they have? Galuit asked Kishi.

Kishi checked the screen in front of her. "The people in the tunnel should've started using the air tanks about five minutes ago. The rescue team reached them about three minutes ago. They have about ten minutes left."

Galuit looked at her. They reached them three minutes ago? What's taking so long?

Kishi shook her head. "I don't know, sir. The scanners and cameras in that area have been turned off so that the Yeerks don't pick up the broadcasts. And I'm not picking anything up from L.C. Garcia's com link, either."

Galuit stared straight ahead. Any more word on the platoon?

Thomas glanced over at him. "None, sir," he said.

Again, Galuit stared. And the distraction?

Thomas checked the screen. "Incoming call from Taylor now, sir."

Patch them through.

A minute later, the screen appeared. "Captain?" Taylor whispered, his face barely visible in the darkness.

What's the report?

"We can see the Yeerk arsenal now, and it appears to be slightly smaller than we first believed," he said. "Requesting permission to take the offensive?"

Is everyone ready?

"Yes, sir."

Then permission granted. And Taylor?

"Sir?"

Keep them _away_ from the rescue attempt!

"Yes, sir. Taylor, out."

Galuit, over. Galuit terminated to message and looked at Kishi, who had taken up Garcia's station. What's the status?

"Distraction has begun, sir," Kishi reported.

"Still no word from Garcia," Thomas said softly.

Damn, thought Galuit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was going on with the rescue attempt? Well . . . 

"Holy shit!" Tobias shouted as Dracon beams began appearing out of nowhere. He grabbed Cassie's arm and pulled her to the ground behind a log. "Where'd they come from?"

"I don't know!" Cassie shouted back.

Garcia handed the code book to Carson and told him to start figuring it out. She grabbed the radio and her gun and hurried over to where Tobias, Cassie, and the other members of the rescue party were cowering. Carson was shielding from the attacks by the shed.

"Tobias," Garcia said, handing him the radio. "See if you can figure out a way to get a hold of the Command. The rest of you, arm yourselves and get ready!"

Tobias touched Cassie's arm. "Cass, you can take the radio and I'll fight," he whispered. "If you want."

Cassie shook her head. Already gray fur was forming on her face. As her nose and mouth began to protrude out, she said, "I want to do my part to defend thish plass." Quickly she switched the thought speak. This place, she finished. Understand?

Tobias nodded and started messing with the frequencies on the radio. "Good luck," he whispered.

Cassie nudged him with her nose, then leaped over the log. 

Chapter Two

Breeyar, Aci, and Geoff tore around the corner of an old, run-down building, only to find themselves staring at one of the largest Hork-Bajir they'd ever seen. "Oh, lord," Geoff whispered. He started backing up. At that moment, a hand landed on his shoulder. Another hand clamped down on his mouth as he started to scream.

"It's all right," Jake's voice said calmly. "Rachel's not going to hurt you."

"R-Rachel?" Geoff turned and looked at Jake, then back at the Hork-Bajir. 

Like it? Rachel asked, spinning around like she was showing off a dress. It's the latest in bladed-alien culture wear.

Breeyar looked at Jake. Am I ever glad to see you guys, he said, his voice full of relief. But how did she get a Hork-Bajir morph?

"Incredibly long story," Marco said, appearing from behind the building. "Can we get out of here?"

"They're right behind us," Aci whispered.

Rachel grinned her horrifying Hork-Bajir grin. "Don't worry," she said in a Hork-Bajir voice. "I can handle them."

"Let's go," Jake said in his I'm-in-charge voice.

"Go where?" Shane asked.

Something clicked behind them. "How about straight to Sytsirk?"

"Not again," Marco sighed, turning around to face yet another gun. "Look, can we just skip the melodramatics for once? You don't have to say 'how about straight to whatever-his-name is', like they do in movies and junk. Why don't you just arrest us already?"

The Controller pointed his gun straight at Marco. "I have orders to shoot on sight," he whispered dangerously. "I'm going to shoot you first."

Chapter Three

"Isn't this the part where the hero suddenly shows up and saves everyone?" Marco whispered timidly. The Controller didn't hear him, but Jake did.

"Marco, _we're_ supposed to be the heroes," Jake whispered back. Marco didn't say anything. He couldn't take his eyes off the Dracon beam being pointed at him. The Controller was adjusting the settings and getting ready to shoot. 

The barrel aimed at Marco's heart. 

TSEWW!

__

CHING!

"AHHH!"

The shot came quickly, only to be deflected by a large circular metal object that whizzed by like a Frisbee. The laser immediately bounced off the metal and hit the shooter right in the chest. He had just enough time to scream before he went down. 

For exactly one minute, everyone, even the Controllers, stood completely still. 

One minute was exactly enough time for Cat to aim her gun at the building behind the Controllers and knock out the support beams. "Get out of the way, you idiots!" she shouted to the good guys as the building began to collapse forward. 

"Where the heck did you find this girl, Marco?" Jake demanded as they hurried away from the collapsing structure.

Marco shrugged, breathing heavily from his near-death experience. "Oh, you know -- around." 

Jake rolled his eyes. 

"Come on," Cat said, slipping the metal ring back into whatever hiding place she'd been keeping it in and charging her gun up again. "There are other ships coming, and I don't think we want to be here when they get here."

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Marco asked softly, coming up next to her.

Cat shrugged indifferently. "You're a psychic, Marco," she said. "You figure it out." She started to move forward, but Marco grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Thanks," he said in the same soft tone. "For saving my life." Then Jake called him, and he hurried past her.

Cat stared after him.

No one had ever thanked her before.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh man, Cassie thought as she led about five human Controllers on a chase through the woods. Jake's going to kill me when he finds out I did this.

If these creeps don't get me first.

Behind her, another shot rang out, this one just barely missing her head and slicing through the bark of a nearby tree. Normally, Cassie wouldn't have been too happy, but this tree looked like it was used regularly for target practice. At this point, one more shot wouldn't hurt it.

"Come back here, you filthy Andalite!"

The words just barely registered. Then suddenly they broke through. Andalite? she thought. I thought the Yeerks found out we were human. That's what Tom said. He said his former Yeerk had told Nine.

But had Nine told anyone else?

A small idea began forming in the back of Cassie's mind. She hoped he wasn't too far away. Tobias? I know you can't answer me, but if you can hear me, I need your help. I need you to use your Andalite morph.

Chapter Four

Nine stood in front of the observation screen in its office and growled softly under its breath. The attack on the AAA base was _not_ going well. None of his troops had managed to access the passageway that Sytsirk had said was there. 

"That fool Acissej must have figured out some way to warn them!" it growled, slamming its fist down on the computer console controlling the image. "They must be extremely well organized to be able to cover it up in such a short amount of time." But Nine wasn't worried -- Nine was never worried.

To Nine, there was no such thing as failing. If you were unable to do something at that moment, then you would just keep trying until you succeeded. Plain and simple. Failure was when people quit after they were unable to succeed.

This motto was how Nine had risen to power in the Council.

Disgusted at the sight of the rebels holding their own, Nine shut off the screen and folded its hands (if that's what you could call them) thoughtfully. "I must figure out a way into that base," it whispered. "Those spies in Old New York are the key -- if I could just infest them! How could they have escaped?" Then, suddenly, Nine's eyes widened.

Quickly, it turned to the communications speaker. "Trab," it snapped, "get Sytsirk on the line."

"Yes, Nine."

A minute passed, and a groggy voice came over the system. "Hello?"

"Sytsirk, it's Nine," Nine said quickly. "We need to talk."

On the other end of the line, Sytsirk shivered as a chill went down his spine.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie was reaching the end of her strength. Tobias, I need you! she shouted desperately, but she wasn't even sure if Tobias could hear her. She didn't know how far away from the new entrance she was.

The shots from the Dracon beams were getting closer and closer to her, and she was beginning to slow down. The woods were getting thinner, and she was nearing the town. Once she was in the town, they'd be able to catch her . . . 

"_Gerfrash_ Andalite! Kill! Kill!" The twisted Hork-Bajir voice shouted from behind her. Cassie tensed as he fired, but no shot passed by. No shot hit her, either. She turned.

Cassie, get out of here! Tobias shouted as he dodged the Hork-Bajir's shot. 

Tobias! she shouted with relief. He had heard her, after all! Are you going to be all right? Can you handle them?

Tobias laughed, something he hadn't done recently. I'm half-Andalite, Cassie -- this is second nature to me. Now get going! Ax and the others have six minutes left!

Cassie ran.

Tobias turned and looked calmly at the Controllers. They looked not-so-calmly at him. Then one of them raised their gun shakily.

Tobias was so intent on watching them that he had all four eyes trained on the group in front of him. The Controller tried to squeeze the trigger, but his hands were shaking too much.

__

Snap!

Tobias, who still wasn't used to four eyes, turned his head.

The shaking Controller stopped shaking and fired.

Chapter Five

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Sytsirk nodded, then realized that Nine couldn't see him. "Yes, my liege," he managed to reply.

"You have your orders, then," Nine said with authority. "You will put your team on standby the moment we infiltrate YPM headquarters. Acissej was . . . kind . . . enough to tell us where the base was when she was brought before me." There was a click as Nine terminated the transmission.

Sytsirk stared mutely at the silent transmitter on the wall.

Then, quickly, Sytsirk opened a hidden panel next to the transmitter and tapped out a secured channel. "Come on, come on," he whispered. "Be there!" 

A female voice crackled over the system. "Lam speaking," she said. Her voice was tense. 

"This is Sytsirk, calling Ornum," Sytsirk whispered urgently. "Connect me immediately.

A moment later . . . 

"Sytsirk, this is Ornum," another female voice replied. "What is it?"

Sytsirk glanced nervously at the door, hoping no one would be able to tap into his transmission. "We've got problems, ma'am," he said tensely. "Nine knows where the base is. You need to evacuate _immediately_."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nine smiled evilly as it listened to Sytsirk's hurried discussion with the Yeerk Peace Movement leader. The fool, it thought. He doesn't have a clue that I didn't close down the transmission.

Silently, it continued to listen to the mounting evidence against Sytsirk and the entire YPM.

Chapter Six

Ax drowsily blinked his eyes. His internal clock told him that they had about two minutes left, and they were therefore running out of air. Ax had been letting Jackie get a few more seconds of air than he had taken, and it was beginning to effect him drastically. 

The roof had begun sprinkling showers of dirt on a regular basis, but Ax had long since stopped wondering what the heck was going on up above ground. Now he just wondered whether or not losing air would kill them, or having the rest of the dirt roof collapse in on them would.

Suddenly Jackie touched Ax's arm. Ax removed the oxygen mask and looked at him. "Did you hear that?" Jackie whispered in a low, hoarse voice.

Hear what?

"That." Ax cocked one ear and listened. It took a moment for his senses to come together, and then he managed to identify what it was he was listening to. A soft, clicking sound. Like something turning. Like a . . . here he searched his memory . . . like a combination lock.

Charlie, who was sitting directly in front of the exit door, suddenly moved away. He handed his mask to the person next to him. "This thing moved!" he gasped, pointing to the metal rod that helped keep the door shut. "It moved!"

Ax quickly moved over to the door and pressed his ear against it. Then, with the little strength he had left, he pounded hard against the metal with his fist. 

A second later, an answering pound shook the door. Then a muffled voice called through: "Pull the latch up!"

What? Ax hadn't heard him, and he was glad that you didn't have to be able to hear in order to understand thought-speech. If ears were a requirement, he wouldn't have been able to get Carson to repeat his words.

"Pull the latch up!"

"This thing," Charlie said, grabbing the metal rod. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the rod up and over. 

There was a sigh, then a click, and then the door swung open. A rush of cold air blew into the compartment. 

Immediately, hands started pulling people out. Ax, barely thinking about what was happening, made sure everyone got out before he did. Thirty seconds after the last person -- Jackie -- was out, Ax felt himself being lifted through the door. 

His hooves touched solid concrete, and then he collapsed. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobias blinked once, twice. 

Where am I?

He sat up -- in his _human_ form -- and looked around in astonishment. He was lying in the middle of a ditch, about a hundred yards from where the Controller had shot him. 

How did I get here?

Why am I human?

How long have I been out?

Tobias managed to pull himself to his feet and climb out of the ditch. 

Lying motionless around the ditch was the entire group of Controllers that had attacked him and Cassie. They all had their throats slashed. Small pools of blood had gathered, but had long since stopped dripping. They had been killed a few hours earlier. 

Tobias O'Conner stared at the lifeless bodies. 

What is going on?

Chapter Seven

The platoon had managed to find a safe haven in what used to be a subway station. Shane had managed to start a small fire, since it got extremely cold at night. Coalmeer, thankfully, had managed to rescue what little food they had.

After a quick meal, Breeyar called a meeting together. We left the base about four and a half days ago, Breeyar said. We've been unable to get a message to the captain, and we have no idea what has happened at the base.

The way I see it, we have two choices. The first choice is that we head back to the transport and try to get home. The second is that we stay here and finish what we were sent to do, which could potentially kill us. I'm not going to force anyone to do anything, so it's entirely up to you.

Jake leaned against a wall and folded his arms across his chest. "We were sent here to stop the Kandrona from being installed. We can still do that."

"No." Everyone turned to look at Acissej, who was shaking her head. "There's no way we can stop them from installing the Kandrona Wave/Particle Generator. Those Bug fighter's were already transporting it. They'll have it installed in no time. The only way to stop them now is to blow up their entire base."

"But we don't know where their base is!" Marco argued.

"Yes, we do," Geoff cut in. "Aci, Breeyar, and I just escaped from there."

"They'll be on the lookout for us," Jake said. "We can't send too many people in, or else they'll spot us. And we don't have any way to blow up the base."

Marco suddenly got an idea. It was a slim chance, but still -- "Hey, Coalmeer?"

Yes?

"You know all those weapons you've managed to collect from various dead Controllers, and that computer junk you've got?"

Yes?

"Do you think it's possible to make a bomb out of it?"

Everyone stopped looking at Acissej and started staring at Marco.

I just might be able to do that, Coalmeer replied thoughtfully. It just might work.

We'd need someone who could get in and out of the base quickly, Breeyar said. I'd suggest Acissej, since she'd probably know her way around best, but she's higher noticeable.

Marco nodded. "We need someone who's been in that base before -- and who's never been caught."

"We don't know anyone who has," Rachel reminded him.

Marco's gaze focused on someone past the group. "Yes, we do."

Everyone turned to look at Cat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you mean, you can't find Tobias? Galuit yelled at Garcia over the communications link.

Garcia took a deep breath. "Just that, sir," she said carefully. "The boy is nowhere in sight. He went off to help Cassie, and hasn't come back."

Has Cassie returned?

"Yes."

Where did she last leave him?

"We've already checked that area, sir," Garcia replied. "We've been checking ever since we dispatched the patients to your location. There's no sign of him; but we did find the remains of the Controllers following Cassie."

Galuit straightened up in surprise. All dead?

"All dead," Garcia confirmed. 

How many?

There was some hectic whispering on the other end, then Garcia replied, "Five or six. Something took them out."

What do you mean, _something_ took them out?

"Just what I said, Captain," replied Garcia. "Something slashed their throats. It could've been Tobias -- he was in Andalite morph, but Aximili claims that he's not very used to a tail blade. And from the looks of it, they've been dead for awhile."

Approximate time?

"About three hours."

Something in the back of Galuit's mind was telling him to get his people the hell out of that area. Start heading back, he commanded. 

"What about Tobias?"

You heard my orders, Lieutenant, now _follow them!_ He terminated the call and leaned forward, bracing himself on the desk. All four of his eyes were trained downward, staring at absolutely nothing. 

A knock on the door caused him to look up. Yes?

A scout poked her head in. "The tunnel evacuees have arrived, sir."

He nodded. Tell the medical team that I'll be there shortly.

"Yes sir." The scout closed the door.

Galuit glanced at the screen in front of him, the one from the camera trained on the woods. Somewhere, Tobias was out there. Where, he had no idea. Forgive me, Elfangor, he whispered.

Then, pushing all thoughts of Tobias O'Conner out of his mind, he hurried out of his office to the med bay. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why should I?"

Those were the first words out of Cat's mouth when Jake approached her about entering the Yeerk base.

"Haven't you done it before?" Jake asked.

Cat glared at Marco, then nodded almost unnoticeably. "Then you can get in there without being spotted."

"There's no guarantee of that," snapped Cat.

Jake narrowed his eyes, and was about to snap back when Marco grabbed his arm. He leaned in a said in a low voice, "Let me try. I think I can deal with this without having it end in a blood bath."

Jake looked at Marco, then at Cat, then back at Marco. Finally he nodded, and walked away.

"Finally," Cat muttered. She returned to cleaning off her blade when Marco grabbed her wrist. Surprised, she looked up at him.

"Listen to me," he growled in a low, steely voice. "I don't know why you have such an attitude towards my friends -- they haven't done anything to you -- but you will not have the same attitude towards me. Now, we have a chance to strike a serious blow against the Yeerks, and from what I gather, you don't like them very much. Some get rid of that chip on your shoulder and do something to help us out here."

Cat stared at him for a few minutes. Marco wondered what she was thinking, but there was no way for even him to figure it out. Then, lightening quick, she pulled her wrist out of her grasp. For a minute, Marco thought she was going to bare her teeth and hiss at him like a real cat. 

"Don't _ever_ touch me," she said in a low, silky voice. "Do not touch me. And as for the so-called 'attitude' you say I have against your friends, well, I don't have anything against them. What I do have is a problem with _you_. Just because you heard my call, just because we're both psychic, does _not _mean we have a connection. Don't think you can make me do something for you just because you say you can. For all I care, go plant your own bomb. I'm out of here." She grabbed her blade, which Marco now could see was more like a boomerang than a Frisbee, and slid it away into its holder. 

"Where are you going?" he demanded as she began heading for the exit. He grabbed her arm.

She whirled around, shoved him up against the wall, and pressed her claw-like fingernails against his throat. "If you follow me," she said with deadly intention, "I'll kill you." She moved her hand and let him go. Cat eyed the shocked group around her. "That warning goes for all of you."

Pulling her hood over her head, she slipped into the shadows and disappeared as quietly as she had appeared just 24 hours earlier.

Marco raised a hand to his throat, and when he shakily pulled it away, a drop of blood from where she had scratched him stained his fingertips.

Chapter Eight

How are you feeling? Galuit looked down at Ax, who was lying down next to a wall. One of the medical staff was checking him over. 

Ax shook his head groggily. A little better, he admitted. They've been pumping oxygen into me since I got here. He pointed at the oxygen mask covering his face. Any news on Tobias?

Galuit shook his head. We've still got scouts out there searching, he lied. 

Ax glanced up at him and seemed to be thinking about something, then he shrugged. What about Jake and the others?

Still no word from them, either, Galuit sighed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. But we're still trying. We're hoping that, even if their comlink did get destroyed or damaged, they'll still find a way to contact us.

Ax closed his stalk eyes and breathed deeply. I hope you're right. How's Jackie?

The boy in the wheelchair? Ax nodded. He'll be all right. He's a lot better off then most of the others -- he says you gave him most of the oxygen in the emergency tank.

Ax's cheeks colored slightly, but he didn't say anything to contradict Jackie's statement. Galuit smiled slightly. It must run in your family, he commented. Always looking out for others. Your brother was a lot like that, too.

He was?

Galuit nodded. 

Outside the med bay, the PA system crackled. _"Captain Galuit, please report to the bridge. Captain Galuit, please report to the bridge."_

I'll talk to you later, Galuit said to Ax, then hurried off.

Chapter Nine

Galuit walked briskly onto the bridge. What's going on?

Thomas spun around in his chair. "We're picking up a call from the Old NY region."

Is it the platoon? Galuit demanded.

Thomas shook his head. "No, sir," he said. 

Then why do we care?

"It's a relay message, sent out by a Yeerk named Sytsirk," Thomas reported, pulling the transcript of the message up on the screen in front of him, "to another Yeerk named Ornum."

Tom, who had returned shortly after the Yeerk lines had begun to pull away, looked up. "Sytsirk was the named of my former master," he said to Galuit. 

Thomas arched an eyebrow. "Really? I thought you said the Yeerk before Acissej wasn't very nice."

"He wasn't," Tom replied. "Why?"

Yes, Mr. Thomas, Galuit said, Do tell.

"This message was from Sytsirk to Ornum. Apparently, Ornum is one of the leaders in the Yeerk Peace Movement, and Sytsirk is warning them that Nine is on their way." Thomas' eyes widened slightly. "He says that Acissej gave away the location of the YPM base."

Kishi and Garcia exchanged glances. "That means the platoon must have been captured," Kishi whispered.

Galuit narrowed his eyes. I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this. Did anyone contact Sytsirk before he made this call?

Thomas fiddled with a few buttons and typed in some numbers. "One call, from the Buffalo Yeerk Base to the New York Yeerk Base. It must have been Nine."

Galuit nodded. To borrow a human phrase, I smell a rat. Did Nine close out that frequency before Sytsirk made the YPM call?

"That'll take me a moment," Thomas replied.

Make it quick.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How's it coming?" Jake asked, looking over Coalmeer's shoulder.

Coalmeer glanced at him briefly, then returned his gaze to the components in front of him. So far, so good, he replied. Though I don't know how much good it'll do us -- we don't have any way of getting it into the base.

"Acissej and Breeyar are trying to figure one out now," Jake said, trying to sound positive. "Just keep working." 

Jake left Coalmeer and went over to where Rachel, Shane, and Shane's Aunt Kristy were sitting. "You look exhausted, cuz," Rachel said, handing him a water bottle. "You should get some rest."

"I will once I know I'll be able to sleep," Jake replied, drinking about half of the bottle in one gulp. "How's Marco?"

Shane nodded to where Marco was sitting. "He's been there ever since Cataluna left."

"Is she normally like that?" Rachel asked.

Kristy nodded. "I'm afraid so. Sometimes, she can be a big help. She'll even be willing to help. However, she doesn't seem to trust anyone. And sometimes, there are people she'll react very strongly to. They'll usually the ones who try to get her to open up, or to trust them, like your friend did. And she'll turn on them."

Shane looked down at the floor. "It's like she's afraid."

Kristy looked surprised. "What makes you think that? The Cataluna's never been afraid of anything."

Shane shook his head. "You're wrong, Aunt Kristy," he said. "She's afraid."

"What could she possibly be afraid of?" Rachel asked. "I mean, have you seen those weapons she had? And even without the weapons, she's dangerous. If I'm Xena, than that girl's Callisto."

Shane sighed. "I don't know what she's afraid of, I just know that she is." He looked over at Marco again. "And whatever it is, your friend must have found it."

Jake?

"Yes, Coalmeer?"

The Andalite scientist held up the small, but lethal, bomb. It's finished.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobias was cold. He was wearing his AAA uniform, which was tight enough that it was morphable, but that was it. He wasn't even wearing shoes (naturally). Tobias had never liked the night as a hawk, and he had never liked it as a human. The night was when anything could happen.

A shiver went down his spine, and once again he got the feeling that he was being watched. He'd been having the same feeling off and on constantly in the last half hour. It didn't help that there was no moon out, and that the woods were almost completely pitch black. 

__

Snap.

Tobias froze.

"Who-who's there?" he called shakily. Whether that was from the fact that he was scared or because his entire body was shaking from the cold, he didn't know. But it was definitely one or the other. He was scared, and he was cold.

But apparently, he was not alone.

Tobias could see _something_ through the trees in front of him. It looked like a large egg of some sort. "What in the . . .?" Cautiously, he approached the "egg". He pushed aside a bush to be able to see it better. There were lights near it, and it was illuminated against them. 

"Oh, my lord," he gasped.

__

Snap. This time is was directly behind him. 

He turned around.

A brief glimpse . . . 

A flash of light . . . 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marco stared into the shadows that Cat had disappeared into. Despite the fact that she had basically threatened to slice his throat with her fingernails, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind since he'd laid eyes on her. 

__

Who is she? he wondered. They'd told her all about where they were from, but she hadn't offered anything. She'd just made it very clear that she didn't trust anyone, and probably wouldn't anytime in the near future. Or the far future, for that matter.

All that had intrigued Marco, so he had continued to pursue the matter, to try and get her to talk. He had put his complete trust in her, and she had put none in him.

So why couldn't he get her out of his mind?

He suddenly realized just how tired he was. _Maybe I'll sleep. For just a few minutes_, he reasoned. His eyes began to close.

Marco.

His eyes sprang open.

Marco.

He knew that voice. He glanced around, just to make sure no one else had heard anything. No. They were all busy with the bomb plan.

Quietly, he got up and slipped off the way Cat had gone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Controller quickly read the notice Nine had just given him. "Sytsirk? But I thought --" He got no further as Nine focused its eyes on him. The Controller gulped.

"You thought what?" Nine asked calmly. 

He shook his head. "N-nothing, my liege."

Nine nodded. "I thought so. Now. Dispatch that notice immediately. Alert the entire confederation that Sytsirk is indeed a traitor to the Yeerk Empire. Then contact the New York Base and have them arrest Sytsirk."

"When?"

"Immediately."

The Controller nodded and turned to his station.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is it, Three?"

Three stood and faced the Emperor. "I have something to show to you," Three said, holding up a notice. "This is being dispatched all throughout the Earth Confederation."

The Emperor held out a gloved hand. "Let me see."

Three passed the notice to Two, who handed it to the Emperor. The glowing red eyes focused and read the words on the page. "Was this discussed with us at any point?" he demanded.

Three shook his head. "No, sir," he replied. "Nine did not bring this to our attention."

The Emperor was not pleased. "See to it that we bring Nine's attention to it. And Nine had better have a good explanation."

Three saluted to the Emperor, and left the meeting room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sytsirk was staring worriedly at the window in front of him. He had a pretty good idea where the platoon had disappeared to, but it wasn't his biggest worry at the moment. His biggest worry was Nine's attack on the YMP base. 

A knock on the door brought his thoughts back to where he was. "Yes?"

The door opened, and three guards stood in the doorway, one of them holding an official-looking parchment. "Sytsirk 9-1-0?"

"You know who I am, you fool," Sytsirk growled. "What is it you want?"

The guard handed him the paper. Sytsirk read it, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What does this mean?"

The first guard motioned to the other two. "It means," the first one said as the other two clamped restraints on Sytsirk's arms, "that you are under arrest for high treason to the Yeerk Empire."

Chapter Ten

Marco squeezed gently between two slabs of concrete, one of which had a large T carved into it. Checking himself so that he didn't go falling into a hole or anything, he crawled along the side of the slab, listening for anything that might be trouble. He was almost positive that this was where the call had been coming from.

Suddenly, just a few feet away, a Bug Scout loomed above him. Before he could panic, he realized that there was no way he could be seen, not from where he was hidden. As he watched, three large Farsight Controllers were dragging another Controller, a Hork-Bajir, between them. Marco hadn't seen a Farsight since Elysia, but it didn't surprise him that the race had been enslaved. Almost everyone in Elysia had fallen victim to the Yeerks at one point or another.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

Someone grabbed him from behind.

Chapter Eleven

Marco let out a strangled gasp and tried to pull away, but the grip was strong. Whoever it was pulled him away from the rock and into the shadows. "Shhh," the person said.

Marco knew that voice. "C-cat?" 

"Yes."

He was no longer afraid that a Yeerk had caught him. However, now he was worrying about what Cat would do to him now that _she_ had caught him. "What is it?"

"That's Sytsirk," Cat said, pointing to the captured Hork-Bajir Controller. "He's heading up the operation in New York."

"What's happening to him?"

"From what I can gather, he's been arrested," Cat replied, bringing her voice down to a whisper. Marco had to move closer to her in order to hear her. "I've been keeping tabs on him for quite sometime -- it turns out that he's not such a bad guy after all."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a member of the YPM," Cat replied. "And my guess is, somehow Nine found out."

"What do you mean, your guess is?" Marco hissed. "Don't you know for sure? For all we know, this could be a trap."

"I _know_ that," Cat snapped. "If I hadn't been running around with you and your team, I _would_ know for sure. I definitely wouldn't be standing here having this conversation with you."

"You called to me," Marco said, changing the subject. "Why?"

For the first time, Cat seemed to falter. "I -- I don't know," she admitted. "I do know that something needs to be done, but I don't know what." She looked at him. "You've dealt with these creeps longer than I have. What do we do?"

Marco stared at her in amazement. Was Cataluna, the girl who had practically taken down two dozen Controllers on her own, asking _him_ for help? 

__

This isn't your decision to make, a little voice whispered to him. _You're not the leader -- Jake is._

But Jake doesn't trust her, Marco thought. _No one does. Except . . . _

He looked at her.

__

Except me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lieutenant Thomas slammed down his pen. "I've got it, sir!" he called to Galuit, who was standing impatiently on the bridge.

Galuit turned towards him. Well?

"Nine never disconnected the call line," Thomas replied. "Unless Sytsirk did it himself -- which I doubt -- Nine must have heard everything that Sytsirk said to Ornum."

Chief Taylor turned to the captain. "Now what, sir?"

Galuit's eyes narrowed in an Andalite frown. We have no choice, he stated. Mr. Thomas, try and follow that dispatch Sytsirk sent out. Figure out some way to get word to the YPM that Nine is setting a trap for them.

Tom stared at Galuit. "We're _helping_ the Yeerks?"

These Yeerks are our allies, not our enemies, Tom, Galuit said calmly. Then suddenly, his eyes widened. If Sytsirk is arrested for treason, what's to stop Nine from trying to find our own people?

"Sir?" Garcia asked, confused.

Taylor turned to her. "The extra security, plus the prison transport, in the city limits," he explained. "The prison transport, especially, used heat-seeking technology to track down people. If they get unusual readings -- such as an Andalite -- then the platoon is, to put it bluntly, screwed."

That's _it!_ Galuit shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Galuit rarely yelled. We have no choice but to send in a rescue team.

"But sir," Taylor said uncertainly, "we're short manpower, what with the last rescue and distraction mission. Many of our people are in sick bay. The O'Conner kid is still missing, and it'll take at least three days to get from here to New York without any Yeerks spotting us."

Galuit straightened up and turned to his chief. The 'O'Conner kid', as you so eloquently put it, is a member of this base. He is not a civilian. So treat him with a bit of respect. He turned to look at the main screen. As for getting to New York, well, we're going to need a pretty fast transport.

Captain?

Galuit turned to see Shamia, the only surviving female Andalite from the _StarSword_, standing near the back of the bridge. What is it, Shamia? Galuit asked the pilot.

I'd like to offer my transport, she said. 

Taylor smothered a smirk. "What makes you think that hunk of junk will get us to that city any faster?"

Shamia looked at him. Not that one, she said, the one I've been building on my own.

Galuit looked at her. You've built your own transport?

Shamia nodded. 

I'd like to see it.

Follow me. She turned and walked out of the bridge.

Curious, Taylor and Galuit walked after her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Is everyone ready?" Jake asked, looking at the others. Everyone nodded. 

Let's go, Breeyar commanded.

"Aci, are you positive that you remember the way to the base?" Geoff asked uncertainly.

"Yes," she replied patiently. It had only been the fifth time he'd asked the question, after all. Geoff seemed to accept the answer and fell silent. _At least they're beginning to trust me_, she thought. She glanced over at Breeyar, who refused to look in her direction. _Some of them, anyway._

"Um, question," Shane said from behind Rachel. "Well, two actually. What do we do once we've reached the base, and what happened to Marco?"

Jake spun around. "Marco?"

Halt, everyone, Breeyar said, also turning around. Where is he?

"He's gone!" Rachel growled when it became apparent that Marco was nowhere in sight. It was an unnecessary comment, but she didn't care. Marco had ditched them and she wasn't happy. 

Where do you think he went? Coalmeer wondered. 

"He probably went after that Cat person," Geoff commented. "I don't blame him."

Rachel and Aci both glared at Geoff. "Just kidding," he whispered.

"He probably did," Jake growled. "Great. MARCO!" His voice echoed off the abandoned buildings. "MARCO!"

Rachel clamped a hand over his mouth. "Do you want to get us _all_ killed?" she hissed. Jake shook his head. "Then stop trying to cause an avalanche or something. The Yeerks will hear you!" 

You better listen to her, man.

"Marco?" 

Yeah, it's me.

"Where are you?"

About a mile away, Marco said.

"How the heck can you hear us -- wait, don't answer that. A psychic thing, right?"

Right.

"What's going on?"

There's no time to explain," Marco snapped. Look -- just do me a favor. Start heading a mile to your right. You and Rachel better morph, too.

"Into what? And what _are_ you?"

Marco laughed cynically. Well -- remember the Mariott?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Ax."

Ax looked up and saw Cassie sitting next to him. Hi, Cassie, he said. She was wearing her uniform, which Ax thought was a little strange. Cassie didn't exactly like uniforms. Plus, there was a little tag clipped over where her name was embroidered. What's that? 

Cassie looked at the tag. "Oh, this?" She looked slightly uncomfortable. "It's nothing."

But Andalite eyes are extremely good, and when Ax looked again, he had no trouble reading what it said. Cadet? he read uncertainly. You joined the AAA? What does Prince Jake say?

Cassie shook her head. "Jake doesn't know that Tobias and I joined up," she confessed. 

Ax was surprised. You did this without consulting Jake?

Cassie glared at him. He decided to change the subject.

How's the search for Tobias coming? he asked. They won't tell me anything. Being in this hospital is aggravating me.

Cassie's eyes widened. "You mean, they didn't tell you?"

Tell me what? Ax stared at her. What happened?

"Galuit has decided to concentrate all efforts on getting the platoon out of New York before it's crawling with Yeerks," she said. "There is no search for Tobias."

No search?

"He's been declared MIA -- Missing In Action."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nine stood calmly in the middle of its chamber. Everything was going according to plan. Soon, very soon, the Yeerk Peace Movement would be in his grasp. And, if Acissej and the AAA platoon were still within Old New York, so would the AAA. "No doubt I'll get a promotion for this," it snickered to itself. "I just need to keep it a secret from the rest of the Council for just a little while longer."

"Hello, Nine."

Nine spun around and found itself face to face with Three of Thirteen. "Three!" Nine gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Three held up the object of his arrival. "This is why I am here?"

Nine stared at the notice.

"What does this mean, Nine?" 

Nine continued to stare.

"Have you committed treason to the Empire? Have you wrongly accused your right-hand man?"

Nine shook its head.

"Then what does it mean?"

__

I mustn't tell, Nine thought. Its eyes narrowed. _Even if it means taking drastic measures._

"Would you like me to tell you?" Nine whispered.

Three stared at Nine, his gaze unwavering. "You had better. The Emperor is most seriously displeased."

"Very well then," Nine said, moving closer to the unsuspecting Councilmember. _Puny Ongachic body_, it thought, sneering. "I'll tell you."

Three started to smile, congratulating himself that he was getting Nine to talk. 

Suddenly, Nine's arm melted into a tentacle, which wrapped around Three's neck.

"But then I'd have to kill you," it whispered.

Three let out a choked gasp. "Wha -- what are you doing?"

Nine grinned, showing all of its teeth. "You asked me what it meant," it said. "It's classified information."

"Don't kill me," Three whispered. "I don't need to know, honest."

Nine dropped Three to the ground, and he began to edge closer to the door. 

__

I have to tell the Emperor, Three thought wildly. _Nine has gone crazy!_

Nine froze. "Tell the Emperor?" it repeated, reading the thoughts from the Ongachic's mind. "_Tell _the _Emperor_?"

Three froze as the tentacle began to wrap itself around his waist and pull him closer to Nine.

"I. Don't. Think. So."

Chapter Twelve

Meanwhile, several light years away . . . 

"How's the evacuation coming?" Ynomrah Ornum as they passed each other. 

"There'ssss no way we can get everyone out without help," Ornum whispered so as not to panic any of the others moving around them. Her forked tongue flicked out of her mouth nervously. Ynomrah noted that Ornum seemed very tense, since her snake-like body was coiled tightly. Ornum was one of the few Alleri-Biotes. A Biote was the name given to a Yeerk who carried an agreement with their host. 

"Is there anyone who can help us?"

Ornum glanced around to make sure no one could overhear her. "There'ssss a station about ten light-nanossss from here, and an Andalite transport issss there, but do you really think that they will believe usss when we sssay that we are peaceful?"

Ynomrah shook her head. 

"Any more word from Ssssytsssirk?" Ornum asked. 

Ynomrah sighed. "No."

"And Acisssssej?"

Again, Ynomrah sighed. "No."

__

" Systems Ecats calling Commander Ornum. Systems Ecats calling Commander Ornum. Please report to the command station. Repeat, please report to the command station." 

"Continue to evacuate," Ornum ordered Ynomrah. 

"Yes, ma'am," Ynomrah said, nodding and hurrying off.

Ornum slithered into the command station at top speed. "What isss it, Ecatsss?"

The Hork-Bajir Biote turned to look at the commander. "Someone is contacting us, Commander," she replied. "From Earth."

"Isss it Ssssytsssirk?"

"No, ma'am," Systems Analysist Ecats replied. "He's human. He says his name is Lieutenant Julio Thomas and that he's with the AAA."

Ornum looked puzzled. "I've never heard of sssuch -- wait! Sssytsssirk hass mentioned sssomething called the AAA. Find out what thisss 'Lieutenant Julio Thomasss' wantsss"

Ecats nodded and turned back to the controls. A minute later: "He says that he tracked the call Sytsirk made to us, and that this whole evacuation is a trap. According to him, Nine was listening in on Sytsirk's call!"

"_What?_ Patch me through." A picture appeared on the main screen. Sure enough, a human man wearing a navy blue jumpsuit and a hat with the words AAA embroidered on it was looking back at them. "Lieutenant Thomasss, I presssume?"

Thomas nodded. "Are you Ornum 2-0-9?"

"I am." 

"I relayed my message to your communications officer," Thomas said briskly, as if he wasn't exactly comfortable making this call. 

"How do we know you are to be trussted?" Ornum demanded.

Thomas glanced to an area off the screen, then nodded. "Excuse me," he said. He got up and moved off screen. A minute later, an Andalite warrior stood in his place.

"I am Imoteo-Samnil-Eyks," Imoteo said, his thought-speech transmitting into regular speech through the network. "I'm an officer of the Andalite-Animorph Alliance -- the main resistance to the Yeerk forces on Earth."

Ornum and Ecats exchanged glances. 

"I am here to inform you that Nine has laid a trap for you and was using Sytsirk as bait. Nine has not only tricked Sytsirk into giving up your evacuation route, but has also tricked Sytsirk into incriminating himself. Sytsirk has been arrested." Imoteo looked steadily at Ornum, as if daring her to believe him. 

"Thank you," Ornum said. "Closssse the link," she told Ecats. Ecats nodded and signed off momentarily after Imoteo did.

"Now what?" Ecats looked at Ornum.

Ornum turned to look at another Biote. "Samoht."

"Yes?" Samoht turned to look Ornum.

"Call of the evacuation."

No questions were asked, as everyone in the command station had heard the call from the AAA.

"What about Sytsirk?" Ecats asked.

Ornum just shook her head dismally.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Imoteo looked at Thomas. "Do you think they believed us?"

The Andalite sighed. I hope so. He began to walk away. If you need me, I'll be with the Captain. Garcia, you're in charge.

"Yes, sir," Garcia said. She watched as the bridge doors closed behind Imoteo, then turned to Kishi. "See if you can get a reading on Tobias," she whispered.

Kishi nodded. "Right."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, where is this transport?" Taylor asked Shamia as they neared the docking bay that she had reserved for herself. "If there is one," he muttered under his breath.

A pounding of hooves behind the trio alerted them to Imoteo's arrival. I left Garcia in charge, he said as he pulled up. We got through to the YPM, and now it's up to them to believe us or not.

Galuit nodded. Well, Shamia -- let's see this transport of yours.

Shamia nodded and punched in a series of numbers on the keypad, then scanned her palm print into the security database. "Identity confirmed," the mechanized voice said. "Welcome, Shamia-Erbrew-Irkyts." The doors slid open.

There she is, Shamia said proudly, motioning to the fighter in front of them. Not exactly a transport, but serves the same basic purpose.

Taylor, Galuit, and Imoteo looked at the fighter in shock.

At first glance, it appeared to be quite narrow. But upon further observation, they realized that it could, in fact, hold several people at once. It was a gleaming blue color -- sapphire, the humans called it -- made out of an extremely hard metal. It was shaped like an orca, or a large dolphin, and under the flippers and on either side of the fluke was a thruster. It's narrowness was no doubt perfected so that it would cut through the atmosphere easily.

She's designed for atmosphere, land, sea, space, and even underground voyaging, Shamia said. I call her _The Quest_.

Galuit finally figured out something to say. You designed her all on your own?

Shamia nodded. With a few modifications by Coalmeer so that she would actually work.

And has she been tested? Imoteo wanted to know. 

Only in underground voyaging, Shamia replied. We -- Coalmeer and I -- have actually done simulations with the other methods, but we can only say on a 75% percent study that she will operate in those as well as she does underground.

"How can she move underground if she's a spaceship?" Taylor scoffed.

Shamia motioned to the nose of the vessel. Hidden inside that nose is an extremely powerful drill. It's so powerful that it can slice through pure diamond like it was aluminum foil. Any more questions?

Taylor, shocked, shook his head.

Good. Shamia turned to Galuit. Well, Captain?

Galuit didn't even need to think. Ready her for activation, he said promptly. Shamia, of course, will pilot her.

Shamia turned to Imoteo. Care to be my co-pilot once more, Im? 

You don't have to ask me twice, Imoteo said quickly. The two of them hurried to the ship to prep it for the launch bay.

"We've never even seen her move!" Taylor hissed in Galuit's ear.

Doesn't matter, Galuit said shortly. Shamia's _Quest_ is our last chance to get Breeyar and the others out of that city.

Chapter Thirteen

__

"HOHURRRRRRRR!"

THUD! THUD! THUD!_ CRASH!_

"Ahhhhh! Gafna, gafna, ahhhhh!"

YEEEEHHHAHHHH! 

__

BOOM!

With one quick motion, Jake turned right and wiped out a lamppost. No one minded -- except the Hork-Bajir the lamppost ended up slicing through on its way to the ground. 

Meanwhile, while Jake was charging blindly into concrete blocks and Bug Scouts with his large head, Marco was busy charging blindly into various Controllers with his horn. Only Rachel had any clue where she was going -- as a full grown African elephant, it was her job to get Sytsirk.

__

CRUNCH!

Oops . . . hope that didn't belong to anyone, Jake said meekly as he slammed into something very hard. What was that, anyway?

Rachel, who was trying to break into the largest Bug Scout, the one that Marco and Cat had seen them take Sytsirk to, said in exasperation, It was the Hard Rock Café sign, you idiot. I doubt the owner cares anymore. Really.

A few feet away, hidden by the ruins of some building that was beyond identification, Breeyar and the others stood watching. And talking.

"You know, I think they're maybe having just a little too much fun with this," Geoff commented. "What do you guys think?"

Breeyar watched as Marco speared a Hork-Bajir and just kind of waved it around for a few minutes before throwing it back at another Controller. You might be right, he agreed. 

Acissej glanced around. "We lost Cat again."

Sure enough, the girl was no longer where she had been standing.

"Why does this not surprise me?" Geoff wondered. "I'm hungry."

We're _all_ hungry, Coalmeer replied.

"I'm hungri_er_," Geoff countered. 

"How do you figure?" Shane wanted to know.

"This is the stupidest conversation I've ever heard," Aci muttered. Breeyar had to agree. 

TSSEEWWW!

TSSEEWWW!

Whoops, they've got guns! Jake shouted. Rachel, can you get him yet?

No! she called back. The hole's not big enough!

Here's an idea, Marco said as he began backing away from the armed Controllers. Take the entire thing.

Rachel considered this, cocking her gigantic, leather-skinned head in a very thoughtful, un-elephantlike way. Then she bobbed her head. Okay. Shoving her tusks into the ship, she lifted it up and began moving away, stomping anything that got in front of her.

Marco and Jake made short work of the rest, then hurried after her, demorphing as she went along.

__

Too easy, Aci thought as she and the others hurried off behind them.

Hidden by the rusted remains of the Hard Rock Cadillac, Cat frowned. "Too easy," she muttered, echoing Aci's thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Any news?" Garcia whispered to Kishi as she made her rounds on the bridge.

Kishi shook her head. "Nothing in the area where he disappeared. I calculated how quickly he was most likely moving and sent a scan off in every possible direction, but nothing's turning up there, either."

Garcia bit her lip. "I'd hate to be the one to tell the other Animorphs that Tobias' disappeared without a trace."

What was that?

Garcia looked up and found herself staring at Ax and Cassie, both of whom didn't look incredibly happy.

"Cadet," Garcia said, nodding to Cassie. She looked at Ax. "How'd you get on the bridge? No civilians -- even if they do where the AAA uniform -- are allowed on the bridge unless they're with the captain."

"I cleared him," Cassie replied, her hands on her hips. She didn't look pleased with Garcia. "What was that statement you just made about Tobias?"

"Cadet," Garcia began, "I am your commanding officer, and you do not speak to me in that manner. I don't care if you _are_ an Animorph. We are in no position to tell you anything."

Ax focused all four of his eyes. Yet, you are required to inform family members of the missing about the progress.

Garcia nodded. "You know the rules," she said, impressed. "Yes, we have to tell families. But Tobias, last I checked, didn't have one here."

Yes, he does, Ax said. He is my nephew.

Garcia stared at the Andalite.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__

My head . . . _sudden pain . . . what's . . . happening?_

Where am I?

What's going on?

A figure moved nearby. It was nothing more than a shadow in Tobias' eye . . . he tried to move his hand.

__

Why can't I move?

His eyes tracked the figure as it made progress around the room. There was a yellow film in front of Tobias' face.

__

I'm in a . . . a what? What is it? 

He tried to rack his brain for the answer.

__

I know what it's called . . . why can't I remember it?

What's happening to me?

He began to feel suddenly lightheaded, as if someone has just poured helium into his mouth.

Although he couldn't close his eyes, everything suddenly went dark.

Chapter Fourteen

"Easy now," Aci urged as she helped ease Sytsirk out of the crumpled wreck of the Bug Scout. "You're all right."

The Biote -- for that is what he was -- landed easily on the ground, but his knee almost gave out. "Your . . . friend . . . almost sliced me in half," he muttered.

"Sorry," Aci apologized. "I can see you haven't changed much. Still the ungrateful little idiot that you were six years ago."

You two . . . know each other? Breeyar looked from one to the other.

Sytsirk nodded. "Eight years ago, Acissej and I were both extremely active on the YPM front. About six months after the massacres stopped, I went undercover. Nobody but my supervisor knew that I still worked for the YPM. Not even Acissej."

"How'd Nine find out?" Aci asked.

Sytsirk shrugged. "I haven't found that out yet. It might have something to do with the call I made to Ornum -- my supervisor -- about Nine attacking the base. I'm suspecting that was a trap for _me_, because he claimed you told Nine about the location."

Aci shook her head. "You know me better than that."

"Eight years have changed many people," Sytsirk reminded her. "Especially you. Where did you get that host?"

Aci looked slightly uncomfortable. "Um, I'll explain later. Right now, we need to get out of here. With you on the loose, security is going to get extremely tight around here."

"There's no way we can plant that bomb now," Jake added. "Sytsirk -- is there anyway that we can contact our base?"

"The radio in the Bug Scout should still be working," Sytsirk said. "Any of you experts in Yeerk systems?"

I am, Coalmeer said, stepping into the wreckage.

"The signal device in that thing is on a timer," Sytsirk said as Coalmeer got to work. "I'd say we have an hour before they find us."

"The Yeerks or the AAA?" Marco asked, leaning against a concrete slab.

The look on Sytsirk's face told him the answer.

"Aw, man," Marco groaned.

Chapter Fifteen

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Taylor complained.

Shamia didn't dare take her eyes off the controls. If all you're going to do is whine, why did you come in the first place?

"To make certain that _you_ didn't screw things up," he snapped.

Shamia rolled her eyes. Give me a break.

We are approaching the Manhattan border, Imoteo reported.

Quest, began a wide-range scan for the transport.

__

AS YOU WISH, SHAMIA.

"Who ever heard of a talking ship, anyway?" Taylor muttered.

__

EXCUSE ME?

"Never mind."

Shamia glanced over at Imoteo, who was trying his best not to make a comment. 

__

SCAN COMPLETE. TRANSPORT, FOUND.

Coordinates?

__

EAST 9, NORTH 12 FROM THE CURRENT LOCATION.

Im, see if you can get a visual.

Imoteo nodded. Right. He paused. Shamia? How do I do that?

Shamia sighed. I'll have to give you a crash course in _The Quest_. Quest, get a visual.

__

ACTIVATING CAMERA SENSORS.

This is some ship, Shamia, Imoteo said approvingly. I have a feeling we'll really benefit from her.

Shamia nodded. 

Then . . . 

__

MORPHING DETECTION -- EAST 324, NORTH 39. MULTIPLE TRANSFORMATIONS. YEERK DETECTION. 

HANG ON! Shamia shouted as _The Quest's _drill increased its power. We're going under!

"Under what?" Taylor demanded. Then his eyes widened as he remembered just what New York was built on. "No way!"

__

The Quest broke through the rock, and slammed into a wall of water . . . 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Maybe I should have gone with them," Cat muttered to herself as she climbed over concrete slabs and dodged sunken pits. "On second thought -- it's not like they need me or anything. I'm sure they're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves on their own.

"I have other problems. I don't need theirs."

She staggered into her apartment -- what was left of it, at least. The smell of smoke was long gone, as well as the charred remains of her past. The fire had taken care of that. She'd had to rebuild everything when she returned from Brooklyn.

Shutting the door behind her, Cat proceeded to remove her cloak and every weapon she had been carrying with her. Her gun, her blade, and a few others that hadn't been needed in the past few days.

After placing them back in their various holders, she sat down on the old mattress she used as a bed and prepared to do some meditating. She'd found it extremely necessary, what with her powers and all.

__

I wonder if he meditates, she thought.

Her eyes opened. "What am I thinking?" she berated herself. "What do you care if he meditates or not? You're never going to see him again, and it's not like you would care if you did or not!"

__

Oh really? her inner voice asked. _What's the matter? Afraid to admit it?_

"Admit what?" she snapped, fully aware that she was talking to herself, and not giving a damn about it.

__

That you might need him. That you might want him.

"What are you, crazy?" she snarled. "I don't need him, and I certainly don't _want_ him. I don't need anyone."

The voice was quiet.

So was Cat. She leaned against the wall, her hands behind her head.

"I don't," she repeated softly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before him, a battle raged. Yeerk against Andalite. Yeerk against Human. Yeerk against Yeerk. A small battle compared to most, but still it captivated his interest. 

Who were these people, who fought so valiantly against the universe's greatest enemy? Why did they fight? Where did they come from? These were all questions that he could not answer.

And what of the girl? What had happened to her? Did she not fight alongside these others? These . . . changelings? 

Silently, he hid. And silently, he watched. 

Something was about to happen.

TO BE CONTINUED

**__**

{Please, whatever you do, DON'T HURT ME! I swear, I had no intention of making this into a three-parter! Honestly, I didn't! Unfortunately, my computers are about to make a serious change in their programming, and I need to get this on FanFiction.Net before it happens! Part 3 of Danger Zone will be out in due time. Bear with me on this one, folks.

{The author (that's me!) would like to thank Hurricane Floyd and the broken sewage pipe for causing school to be canceled for three days so that I could finish this fanfic. (But that's about the only thing I thank Floyd for!)

{Check out the preview below for details on PART THREE! Adiamo!}

Danger Zone: Part 3

Situations have reached an all time high as more and more problems occur. With Tobias still missing, and _The Quest_ racing to the platoon's aid, the AAA is being stretched to its limit. 

Nine has no intention of giving up on the search for the YPM and the AAA bases, but now that Sytsirk's out of its grasp, it's going to need to think fast. 

Meanwhile, the mysterious Cat is beginning to come a bit more into focus as she struggles to maintain her vow of untrusting. But the questions of who she is and where she came from are still a mystery. Will that mystery ever be uncovered?

And just who is that person only referred to as 'he' in the last section of Part Two? Will his true identity ever be discovered? What role does he play in the story? Find out in this (hopefully) suspenseful conclusion of DANGER ZONE.

IN A WORLD A FEAR AND SLAVERY, THEY ARE THE ONLY HOPE.


	3. Default Chapter Title

Previously on 

****

AAA

With the solutions come the problems. The platoon has been reunited again, and with the addition of Cat and Rachel's new friend Shane, they've decided that it's time to finish what they were sent to do. However, when Cat turns her back on the group, tensions rise between Marco and the others. 

Nine has become suspicious of Sytsirk, and tricks him into admitting his allegiance with the Yeerk Peace Movement. Without consulting its superiors, Nine charges Sytsirk with treason against the Empire, and has him arrested. 

After a successful rescue of the trapped members of the AAA, Ax finds himself in the base's hospital. When he finally manages to get a straight answer on the situation, it's revealed that Tobias is missing, and no one knows where he is!

When Lieutenant Thomas manages to alert the Yeerk Peace Movement to Nine's trap, Captain Galuit realizes that, with Sytsirk's arrest on the horizon, this may be their last chance to rescue the platoon. Armed with the AAA's newest weapon, _The Quest_, Galuit sends Taylor, Shamia, and Imoteo to New York. 

The danger has reached an all time high, and no one knows who'll survive these latest problems. 

Now, Our Feature Presentation

****

Danger Zone:

Part 3

Chapter One

In a large, darkly lit chamber . . . 

"Any news from Three?" The Emperor looked around at each of his followers. One by one, the other ten Councilmembers shook their heads. "And any news from Nine?" Again, the Councilmembers shook their heads.

Seven looked towards the Emperor. "May I speculate, for just a moment?"

"What is your speculation, Seven?"

Seven said hesitantly, "As you know, Nine didn't earn the position Nine of Thirteen by being generous. Nine earned the position because Nine is completely ruthless. And Nine didn't even bother to alert us to Nine's plan of arresting Sytsirk, so . . ."

"I understand what you are saying," the Emperor interrupted his follower. "You are implying that perhaps Nine is using its council position as a way to overthrow us."

Seven nodded. 

"That is a very likely speculation," the Emperor implied. "We must hope that it is not true."

"What about Three, my liege?" asked Twelve. 

The Emperor was silent.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobias awoke, once again finding himself unable to move any movable part of his body. He was still in the same glass or plastic tube, surrounded by the same yellow gel. He was relieved that he could still breathe, but he was also afraid. 

Unlike last time, he was alone in the room. There was no shadow off to the side, signaling the presence of his kidnapper. 

By now, Tobias was fairly certain that he was not in the hands of the Yeerks. A Yeerk would've infested him by now, instead of turning him into the world's largest JELL-O mold. Truthfully, however, he kind of wished he was with the Yeerks -- at least then he'd know his enemy. Right now, he was in the hands of an unknown foe.

"Help!" he shouted. Or tried to at least -- he couldn't move his lips at all. It ended up sounding like "Hehhh!"

__

Lovely, Tobias, he thought sarcastically. _Good thing Rachel didn't hear you._

He was about to try shouting again when suddenly, the front of the tube slid away. The gel didn't move, but Tobias did -- face first onto the floor. 

"Shit," he cursed as he felt his nose, hoping to God that it wasn't broken. The last thing he needed was a broken nose. After making sure that all his bones were in one piece, he rolled over onto his back. "Where am I?"

Truth be told, I think the correct question would be, _'What_ are you?'

Tobias tilted his head back -- and found himself staring up at an Andalite.

"Oh my lord."

Chapter Two

Breeyar, behind you!

Coming up on your left, Jake!

RACHEL, DUCK!

__

BOOOOM!

Rachel barely had time to roll out of the way as two Hork-Bajir decided to take a shot at her at the same time. Jake sprinted over to her and managed to take out one of the Hork-Bajir with his paw. While he was sparring with the other one, he shouted, Rachel, morph! Now!

Rachel nodded and dove behind a large piece of something or other. It looked like it had been part of a boat at one time. A long time ago. 

__

Come on, come on -- morph, dammit! She almost screamed in frustration when she realized how tired she was. It had only been about ten minutes since she'd changed back from elephant to human, and that was because her time limit had been running short. 

Unfortunately, ten minutes had not been enough time for her to regain her strength. She was having an extremely hard time concentrating.

A hand grabbed her shoulder. "Get back with the others," Sytsirk said, kneeling beside her. "I'll cover you." He held up his Dracon beam for emphasis.

Rachel looked at him for a few seconds.

"Go!" he ordered.

__

No time to argue, she realized. "Thanks," she whispered, then took off for where Shane, Geoff and Coalmeer were hiding.

She almost did a double-take when she saw Coalmeer. "What are you doing here?"

As a scientist, I have no offensive morphs, Coalmeer replied. What are you doing here?

"Resting," she managed to gasp out. "I can't believe I just tried morphing when I was that tired. For crying out loud, I'm not Cassie! What was I thinking?"

Geoff shrugged. "You were thinking about helping your friends," he said. "Natural."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I have to get back out there," she said.

Shane grabbed her arm. "Don't," he said. "You'll only be putting yourself and everyone else in danger. The others can handle it until you're not so tired."

She looked at him. He was right, she knew, but it didn't make her feel very happy. They were her _friends_. She _had_ to help them. Or die trying, at the very least. 

She stood up.

Rachel, get out of here!

Marco's voice startled her, and she almost shouted in surprise. She turned to look at the large silverback gorilla casually throwing a Hork-Bajir four feet in the air. _Damn that psychic power of his_, she thought, knowing that it was the only way he had been able to see her. 

Rachel, get Coalmeer, Shane, and Geoff out of here, Marco snapped. We try to leave, they follow -- we'll just be putting the four of you in danger. You'll find shelter here.

At that precise moment, a picture appeared in her head, a picture of a map. It was faint, and she could barely grasp it, but she got the general idea.

We'll be there as soon as we can, Marco promised. Now GET OUT OF HERE!

Knowing, finally, that she couldn't help, Rachel grabbed Shane and Geoff, motioned to Coalmeer, and ran.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quest, how far until contact? Shamia asked.

__

I ESTIMATE AN ARRIVAL TIME OF SIX MINUTES.

Yeerk forces? demanded Imoteo

__

TEN CLASS-A BUG SCOUTS, ONE POSSIBLE BLADE SIGHTING.

"Swell," Taylor muttered. "Ratio?"

__

DNA CODINGS SHOW A RATIO OF SIX-TO-ONE, YEERK FAVOR.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Taylor snapped.

Shamia turned her stalk eyes towards him. Can't you just _shut up_?

Taylor narrowed his eyes.

HEY! Imoteo shouted. Will you two get off it for awhile? We've got a problem!

What problem?

Imoteo pointed at the view screen. THAT PROBLEM!

Littering the bottom of the harbor were mines. Hundreds and hundreds of mines.

Including one that was straight ahead of them.

Chapter Three

Full thrust left! Shamia shouted as loudly as she dared. Taylor, find something to hang on to. Imoteo, put weapons on full alert! This is going to be rough!

__

The Quest dodged a hard left, barely skimming the edge of the mine by an inch. Relief washed over Shamia, for she knew the tremor sensors were perched on the top of the mine -- typical Yeerk device. _An Andalite mine would be half the size and much more sensitive_, she thought. _Thank the Ellimist this isn't an Andalite mine_.

_Shamia!_

Imoteo's cry startled her out of her thoughts and immediately drew her attention to the screen ahead. Full thrust right! she commanded the ship, adjusting the lights and desperately trying not to ram into either one of the two mines they would be passing through. 

Directly in front of her was a big problem. Four mines in a square shape, a small hole in between. Dodging three of the mines would be no problem, but the fourth -- there wasn't enough room to go under it, and in order to avoid the other three she would have to go over it. That would mean triggering the explosion device.

"Shamia," Taylor growled, staggering to his feet, "you had better be able to get us out of this, or rest assured Galuit will have your head!"

Relax, Chief, Shamia said, recalling an old physics lesson back in first stage, I've got it all figured out.

"Oh, good."

Quest, full speed ahead.

"_WHAT?!_"

__

YOUR ORDER IS PROCESSED -- ADJUSTING ENGINES.

Upward tilt.

__

TILT REGISTERED.

Hang on.

What are you going to do, Shamia? Imoteo asked. If he was nervous or doubtful of his co-pilot's maneuvering tactics, he didn't dare show it. Taylor, however, was silently cursing out the Andalite pilot. 

Shamia gave a grim smile. I'm going to take her right out of the water, and hope to the Ellimist that we'll have enough thrust to make it to land before that mine goes off.

"We're doomed." Taylor, of course.

__

PREPARE FOR MAXIMUM BURN.

Chapter Four

Tobias sat up and rubbed the back of his head gingerly, never taking his eyes off the Andalite standing in front of him. Likewise, the Andalite -- who seemed to be no older than Ax -- stood his ground, never taking his gaze off of Tobias.

"I'm hoping you're not a Controller," Tobias said finally, breaking the silence. 

From the hope in your voice, I'm figuring you're not one yourself, the Andalite replied, his arms folded across his chest.

"You got that right," Tobias confirmed. "Who are you?"

Who are _you_?

"You kidnapped me, you should know," responded Tobias in a sarcastic tone of voice -- something he had picked up from Marco.

One stalk eye moved forward and peered skeptically at him. I didn't kidnap you, I rescued you. Had it not been for me, you would've been overtaken by those Controllers. Your sudden morph as you lost consciousness most likely healed your wounds.

"So _you_ were the one who killed those guys," Tobias realized, snapping his fingers. 

I thought perhaps you were another Andalite, the Andalite replied. But you've been in that form for too long -- either you are a _nothlit_, or you're just not one of my kind.

"Yes and yes," Tobias replied, further confusing the Andalite. "Now, once again, who are you?"

Who are you?

Tobias almost smacked himself in the forehead. He could obviously see he was getting absolutely nowhere. _This is like talking to Ax when he starts explaining Z-Space_, he thought. "Okay, all right, you win." He stood up. "My name is Tobias O'Conner, son of Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul."

As expected, this threw the arrogant Andalite off a little. For a moment, as he stared, Tobias compared himself to a cell under a microscope -- very unsettling. 

Well, if being stared at was very unsettling, then the Andalite's next words were completely freakish. 

Pleasure to meet you, I suppose, the Andalite said. My name is T'auk-Emanel-Cooraf. 

Tobias looked at the Andalite. Obviously, he thought the name would mean something. Mentally he shrugged. "Well, okay, then. Now, one more thing: Where the hell are we?"

Chapter Five

"Sir, we've lost contact with _The Quest_," Thomas said, spinning around in his chair. 

Galuit looked up. What did you say?

"_The Quest_," Thomas repeated. "There's no frequency anymore."

The captain turned to Kishi immediately. Kishi, what's the status on _The Quest's _flight plan?

"Negative, sir," Kishi confirmed. "There is no trajectory. She's disappeared."

His eyes narrowed. Impossible.

"Possible or not, it's the truth," Kishi said. "There is no sign of _The Quest_. Or, for that matter, the transport the platoon was using. It's completely gone."

Galuit was about to move to the screen himself to check it out when Garcia came up behind him and whispered something in his ear. Nodding, Galuit turned to Tom, who was standing off to one side. Watch over things until I get back, he said. 

Tom was startled. "Me, sir?"

Just until I get back. And believe me, I wouldn't be asking you if it weren't for the fast that 1) you are Jake McCain's older brother and 2) you apparently have nothing else to do.

Ignoring the barb that he was Jake's brother, Tom nodded. "Yes, sir."

Good. He turned and followed Garcia to his chambers.

"They demand to know what's going on with Tobias," Garcia said as they entered the room.

Ax and Cassie were standing in the center, looking not-very-pleased. I demand to know the status of my nephew's disappearance.

Galuit took a deep breath. Very well. He looked at Cassie. Family only.

She stays, Ax said in a tone that Cassie had heard Elfangor use on Arbron in Elysia, and Jake used with Marco when Marco was going overboard with the sarcasm and complaining. She'd never heard Ax use it, though. Galuit didn't argue.

The current status is MIA -- Missing In Action, Galuit said. We have quite a few problems at this moment, more pressing than Tobias' situation, so chances are we won't be able to begin searching for him until things calm down a little.

By then it may be too late.

I can't spare the manpower.

Cassie put her hands on her hips. "What if Ax and I went searching on our own?"

I'd have to forbid it, Galuit said. Civilians are not aloud out of the base without supervision.

"I'll supervise him," Cassie said. "I'm not a civilian anymore, remember?" She pointed at her name plate for emphasis."

You're only a cadet.

"But I'm not," Garcia interrupted. "How about I agree to go with them, for a period of time? If we don't find Tobias in that amount of time, we'll return to base."

Galuit considered this, then sighed. Very well, he said. You have two hours.

Thank you, captain, Ax said.

Galuit shook his head. You're just like your brother, Aximili -- never taking no for an answer.

Ax smiled. I've been told that many times.

With Garcia leading the way, the three of them left.

Galuit stared after them, even after the door was closed. Good luck, he whispered.

Chapter Six

It was pathetic, really, the way it had needed to lie and manipulate just to get where it was today. Had it been a stronger Yeerk, there would have been no need for such drastic measures.

True, it hadn't really wanted to destroy Three. But two key factors had been playing at the moment: One, the fear of its plan being discovered. And Two . . . it was just plain hungry.

__

It's not easy living in this body, it sighed. _But at least I don't need to worry about the never-ending hunger those filthy Taxxon-Controllers go through. First thing when the Emperor is overthrown: destroy all Taxxon bodies._

So as not to forget this little detail -- after all, there were much more pressing things to think about -- it pulled up a file and, beneath No. 163: Find way to make Ongachic host taste better, entered No. 164: Destroy all Taxxon host bodies. After all, it wasn't as if it could actually _eat_ them. 

__

A few more meals like that, Nine thought, _and I'll be ready for the cocoon in no time._

And then the Emperor will fall.

Chapter Seven

__

Honestly, why do I even bother? Cat thought as she moved silently along the slab-covered street. She'd been patrolling this section of the city ever since she came to Old New York, but it wasn't as if anything ever actually _happened._ For some reason, Yeerks and humans alike never liked the area. Cat hadn't been born, of course, when it had flourished, but her parents had often talked about Central Park, back when it was alive, and she could remember her father . . . she stopped that train of thought almost as soon as it started. 

__

I don't live in the past, and I don't wait for tomorrow. I'm here for the present, and that's all. The words that defined her entire life echoed silently in her head. She clenched the crossbow in her hand, and placed the other on the bolts tied to her waistband. 

Off in the distance, she heard the soft TSEWWS! of Yeerk Dracon beams. Someone had made their commander angry. The thought made her smile, however grim. _That's near the bridge_, she thought. _Away from me._

That was how she liked it. 

Suddenly she stopped. Her head cocked, she strained to hear the other sound mixed in with the blasts of beams. 

The sound of a wild animal taking pain.

__

Oh, I don't believe _this! How many times am I going to have to save that guy's ass?_ Hoisting the crossbow into a shooting position, she took off for the direction of the blasts. 

Knowing her way around the city was an advantage, the harbor had just come into view when something made the entire battle stop.

A low rumbling filled the air, and all eyes turned towards the dark red water. 

Chapter Eight

Jake's muscles tensed as a dark shape grew beneath the water. The tiger, while usually calm and collected, was suddenly afraid. It didn't know what this was – it didn't _want_ to know. _Oh, man,_ Jake thought to himself, _if the tiger's afraid, then this better be a good time for me to high-tail it outta here!_

Then he noticed the Yeerks were slowly backing away, too. _Hmm_. 

A Bug Scout floating overhead trained its weapons on the growing mass. It prepared to shoot.

__

FWOOOSH!

TSEEER! TSEEER!

KA-BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 

The shock wave from the exploding mine was enough to send everybody flying off their feet. The backwash from the laser shots and exploding Bug Scout caused everybody who had gone down to _stay_ down. Water showered over the entire harbor as the tower of water created by the explosion died down. 

Animorphs, AAA, and Yeerks alike turned and stared at the ship that had just outmaneuvered an underwater mine _and_ taken out a Class A Bug Scout while still underwater. 

The Yeerks raised their weapons.

A voice shouted out over a loudspeaker. 

"_This is Chief Justin Taylor of the Andalite-Animorph Alliance. Stand down and no weapons will be fired. Surrender and no Yeerks will be destroyed."_

Jake thought this was a little too kind.

The lead Yeerk, a Hork-Bajir, spoke in a guttural voice, "We are Yeerks. We do not stand down. We do not surrender. That metal joke will not shield you!"

The Yeerks began firing. Smoke from the lasers clouded Jake – and Marco, Breeyar, Aci, Sytsirk, any one else within the area – from seeing what was happening. There was no reply from the ship. 

Then . . . 

__

TSSSSSEEEEERRRRRR!

The Yeerks didn't even have time to scream. The shot was point-blank and on target. 

Jake? Marco whispered shakily. How do we know if that's really Taylor?

I made a flash decision. Demorph, I ordered. 

The ship landed softly in front of the melted mess of Yeerks and host bodies. A door opened in one side, and sure enough, Chief Taylor stepped out. "Well, looks like you've all been through hell these past through days."

Jake grinned wearily. "Hell and back, actually. You don't know how glad we are to see you."

"Oh, yes, we do. See, we've got a slight crisis of our own back at base – we could really use your help." Taylor motioned inside the ship. "Come on."

"Wait!" Marco cried. "Where's Rachel, Geoff, and Coalmeer?"

Breeyar immediately snapped to attention. Taylor, can the sensors on that ship – amazing ship, by the way – track down the others?

Taylor didn't look certain.

__

YES! Shamia shouted from inside the ship. In fact, _Quest_ is already on it.

"Is it just me, or is it really cold?" Aci wondered, glancing up.

Jake frowned and looked at his watch. "It's only five o' clock," he muttered.

"Thirty-hour day," Marco reminded him. "The sun's getting ready to go down." Addressing the group, he said, "and I don't know about you, but I really don't like this place after dark."

"Amen," Sytsirk said, cleaning off one of his blades. "Hope you don't mind, but I think I'll tag along for awhile. Let's find the rest of your friends and get out of here."

Taylor glanced inside the ship and nodded as Shamia spoke to him privately. "If half of us go on the ground and the other half go on the ship, we'll cover twice as much area."

Breeyar glanced over at Jake, who nodded. Let's split up, then.

It was decided that Marco, Sytsirk, and Breeyar would stay on the ground, and Jake and Aci would join Shamia, Imoteo, and Taylor in the _Quest_. As the two groups split up, Breeyar looked over at Marco. 

Is something troubling you? he asked. Are you cold?

Marco shook his head. Actually, he was quite warm. The jumpsuit had its own internal heating system, almost. _What kind of material is this thing made of?_, he wondered briefly. 

No, the cold wasn't what was bothering him.

It was, in fact, the moon.

The full moon, just beginning to replace the sun for the night.

Things weren't over yet.

Cat made sure to follow closely behind the land group. She had seen the amazing ship that had defeated the Controllers causing the problems at the moment, and had known she'd never be able to even think of keeping up with it. Not from the ground.

She wasn't going to consider the other option.

So, instead, she followed in the shadows, and hoped Marco wouldn't detect her through their powers. He was already proving to be a far greater psychic than she had anticipated.

Night had fallen, and the moon had risen.

Marco was glancing around, almost as if something was frightening him, and that he knew what it was, but that he couldn't understand why it was so. Of course, he wasn't afraid. He was just picking up her emotions. Good thing he didn't know that. 

Cat clutched the pendent that hung from her neck tightly. The last thing she needed was losing it.

Literally and mentally. 

The man sat in his secluded spot, watching the figures move away. He could see them far after they had disappeared from a regular viewpoint. And he could see what they could not – the young girl, the child, shadowing them.

__

Soon, child, he thought. _You won't be able to resist much longer. You have so much potential – and it will be mine._

All mine.

You can't fight it.

The girl shuddered, stopped, and then continued. 

The man grinned and watched her leave.

Chapter Nine

Aci looked out one of the side windows, down at the ruined city. "This is an amazing ship," she murmured. "It must best every Yeerk vessel ever built."

And every Andalite, rest assured, Shamia laughed, her eyes twinkling. But please, don't ever let the Electorate know that I said that.

Jake was sitting on the floor of the ship towards the back, leaning against the wall. Chief Taylor noticed this and sat down beside him. "Is something the matter?"

He shook his head, then shrugged. "Well, maybe. I can't help getting the feeling that I've been missing out on something while I was here."

Taylor raised an eyebrow, then cleared his throat. "Well, actually -- you have. We managed to rescue Ax and the others from the tunnel, although Ax had given most of his reserve oxygen to a young boy in a wheelchair (we still haven't figured out what he was doing in there). It took forever to revive him. We beat back the Yeerk forces easily -- your brother doing quite well, I might add -- but in an attempt to allow the rescue team some more time, Cassie and Tobias were attacked."

Jake looked up in alarm. _Cassie, attacked? Wait -- what was she doing there in the first place?_ He was about to ask that same question when Taylor began talking again.

"Cassie's fine, but Tobias has been missing ever since. Last I heard, all search efforts have been halted until we removed you from New York and returned to base safely." Taylor took a deep breath. "We managed to get through to the YPM base, and they've stopped their evacuation -- they should be safe from Nine, at least for awhile." Taylor really didn't care much for the Yeerk Peace Movement -- he only added this little piece of information for Acissej's sake. Jake noticed Aci relaxing greatly at the news.

Imoteo looked up from the navigation. Sham?

Shamia looked over. Yes, Im?

I'm picking up some unusual readings here -- about three miles south. Something's happening. Think we should check it out?

Shamia wasn't entirely sure. It was her duty to check out any suspicious and probable Yeerk activity, but then again -- she had promised Jake that she would help look for his friends. Quest, can you identify the reading?

__

YES.

Well?

__

THE WAVELENTGHS MATCH THOSE OF A MAXIMUM-HIGH KANDRONA WAVE/PARTICLE GENERATOR.

Everybody froze. "Oh, shit," Jake whispered as he suddenly remembered something.

In all the excitement, everyone -- even HQ -- had forgotten the reason the platoon was in New York in the first place.

To stop the installation of a maximum-high Kandrona.

Taylor gritted his teeth. "Imoteo, call in a report to base. Shamia, how fast can we get to that site?"

Depends on what we run into, replied Shamia. Hang on!

Chapter Ten

"Everybody, freeze," Rachel whispered as she, Shane, Geoff, and Coalmeer pressed themselves against the side of the building as much as possible. "We can't let them see us."

In front of them, several hundred Controllers were milling around. The Statue of Liberty -- or what was left of it -- could be seen in the middle of the harbor. A large transport ship of some sort had attached itself to the torch. On the edge of the harbor, cages were being set up. Large vats of some strange liquid were being loaded into Bug Scouts, and other ships were dredging things out of the water. 

"What is going on here?" Shane wondered, peering over Rachel's shoulder.

"I don't have a clue," Rachel replied. She glanced at Geoff and Coalmeer. "How about you two?"

Geoff shook his head, but Coalmeer looked grim. Those containers contain the Pool Solution XVSimplatt5, he replied. 

Rachel frowned. "What are they going to do with all that solution?"

No doubt they're building a Yeerk Pool somewhere, Coalmeer replied. And, if my suspicions are correct, I would say the pool itself is the harbor. From the way they're dredging, it looks as though they're removing obstacles from under the water.

"What kind of obstacles?" Geoff asked.

Shane rolled his eyes. "This used to be a busy harbor," he said. "There were hundreds of ships. The Yeerks destroyed everything. There have got to be tons of wrecks under there." Under his breath, he muttered, "Not to mention everything from the massacre."

Rachel didn't want to think about what "everything" could include. "Come on," she said. "I think we better go back the way we came." 

Something cold pressed against the back of her neck. "Hello, Rachel," a familiar voice whispered.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How much further do you think they could've gotten?" Marco asked as he avoided yet another pothole. 

Sytsirk frowned. "Considering the time that's passed, and the amount of Controllers in this area -- we should have run into them now."

Should have, Breeyar agreed, but we haven't. Speaking of which, what Controllers? I haven't seen any since the fight.

"The construction site for the new Pool is about half a mile from here," Sytsirk replied. "They're most likely all there. But some are on patrol."

Marco stopped. "Like them?"

A group of five nasty-looking Hork-Bajir were progressing steadily towards them. Marco frowned -- something wasn't right with this whole situation. _What could it possibly be?_

Sytsirk froze. "What in the . . . what are they doing here?"

I don't think it matters, Breeyar replied. We're still going to end up fighting for our lives!

Marco looked at Sytsirk. "What's up with these? They're a lot stronger-looking than the ones I've seen in the past."

"They were genetically engineered," Sytsirk replied, backing up slightly. "No Yeerk can control them -- but they only know one thing, and that's the kill anything that doesn't have a Yeerk in its head." He clenched his fist to stop it from shaking. "But they aren't supposed to be on guard duty. There should be at least on Regulation Controller with them."

Each of the Horks pulled a large weapon out from behind their backs.

"And they're not supposed to carry Prototype-X weaponry!" Sytsirk shouted. "Get _down!_"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rachel slowly turned around to look at her captor in the face. It was a woman, somewhere in her late thirties or early forties. She had dark hair, pulled in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes, and blue eyes that once must have sparkled brightly, but now only held cold hatred. A Dracon beam was in her hand. 

"What's the matter?" the Controller taunted. "Don't recognize your own sister?"

A gasp escaped Rachel's mouth. "Sara . . . ?!" 

Sara smirked. "Got it in one. If it weren't for this host's memory, plus the fact that you're still a child, I never would've recognized you. But, of course, I have -- and Nine will reward me greatly for this. I've been dying for a new host -- perhaps a Hork-Bajir. They may be dumb, but they are so much stronger than a puny human."

Rachel could now see that they were surrounded. There was a ring of various aliens all around them. Hork-Bajir, human, Taxxon, Gedd, and others that she couldn't hope to identify. 

Then Sara smiled, a humorless gesture. "I may have orders to keep you alive, of course -- but I have no obligation to do so with your friends here." She moved the Dracon beam towards Geoff and the others. "So I wouldn't try morphing if I were you."

Rachel wanted desperately to attack, but she knew from experience that you couldn't drag innocents into a fight that they couldn't defend themselves in. With a sinking heart, Rachel realized that her luck had run out. 

It was over, and she had lost.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There it is," Aci said, pointing at the looming structure in front of _The Quest_.

Jake's eyes widened. "It's the Statue of Liberty," he whispered. 

Imoteo glanced at the screen in front of him. The Kandrona is located inside the torch. It's not turned on yet -- they won't do that until the Pool is complete. But it's installed.

"There must be some way to get at it," Taylor muttered. "There must be!"

Yes, but how? Even if we could get at the Kandrona, we'd still have to destroy it. _Quest_ doesn't have enough power, Shamia said.

An idea began forming in Jake's mind. "But maybe something else does," he said. "Aci -- do you still have the container that Coalmeer gave you? The one with the you-know-what in it?"

Aci smiled, catching onto his logic. "You bet I do," she said, sliding the case strap off her shoulder.

What is it? Shamia asked.

Jake opened the case. "If we get this inside the torch -- think it'll do the trick?" 

Imoteo looked inside. I'd say so.

"Well, then -- let's get moving."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cat could see the conflict in front of her. _Oh, man_, she thought. _Time to bring out the heavy artillery_. She pulled back her cloak and removed the boomerang that hung there. _Bolts won't affect them with those metal chest plates, but there's nothing to stop me from slicing their throats_.

She unfolded the blades and pulled herself up into a throwing position. "Come on, move," she muttered. She needed Marco and the others out of the way to get a clean shot.

__

Perfect. She raised the blade . . . 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CATALUNA?

The voice caught her off guard, and she almost dropped the blade. "What the . . . no," she whispered. "Not you. Please. Not you. Not now."

WE NEED TO TALK.

**__**

NOW.

Chapter Eleven

"Any hint on how to stop these creeps?" Marco demanded. 

Sytsirk nodded. "There's a spot on their chests. That's why they wear the chest plates. If you hit that spot, their whole chest collapses. It's one thing we never managed to fix in the genes."

How powerful are those chest plates?

"That's the bad part," Sytsirk admitted. "If you were to hit it with your fist, your entire arm would shatter."

__

Ouch, Marco thought. "Okay, so we don't do that. How about if I morph? Would a gorilla be able to take them down?"

"They adjust themselves to their opponent. If you morph, then they just become stronger in equivalent to you. They're about three times as strong as you now -- they'll be three times stronger than a gorilla if you morph."

How have Yeerks managed to do this? Breeyar snapped.

"It was Nine's idea," Sytsirk explained. "Nine comes up with crazy ideas which somehow work. Leaving it very unpleasant for the other side."

Marco flinched as another shot whizzed over his head. The three of them were crouched behind large slabs of concrete, and not having a very good time. _There has to be some way out of this_. _They can't be invincible_. He glanced around the side of his slab. _They appear to be using those weapons easily -- but Sytsirk said they don't usually carry weapons. Which gives me an idea . . ._

"I'll be right back," he said to the other two.

Huh?

"Where are you going?"

Marco closed his eyes and tuned out everything around him. _Concentrate. Concentrate._ He felt himself become very light, almost weightless. It was a strange feeling. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring down at the battle scene. It had worked! Somehow, with his natural power Marco had managed to astrally project himself. 

__

Now, where's that Hork? He focused on the group below. _Got him._ Not trying to think about what would happen if somehow his power gave out, he dove down to the front most Hork-Bajir. _Just like flying. Man, Tobias would love this._

Then, suddenly, he was . . . somewhere else.

"Whoa," he said, than realized he had spoken out loud. "So this is what the inside of a Hork-Bajir's head looks like. Pretty . . . dark."

Who are you?

"I suppose you must be the owner of this form."

Uh, maybe.

"You do realize you're trying to kill me and my friends."

It's my programming. I must engage combat with non-Yeerk essentials.

"All right, but do 'engage combat' and 'shoot till dead' mean the same thing?"

Weapons are forbidden.

"Then why the fuck are you using them?"

WHO ARE YOU?

"Huh? Who's there?"

GET OUT!

The force of the voice was so powerful that Marco felt himself getting shoved out of the Hork-Bajir's head. He tumbled head over heels, somehow managing to reroute himself and reenter his body. "Ow," he moaned as he was once again able to feel on a mortal basis.

What happened? Breeyar asked.

"Something's controlling the minds of these things," Marco said. "Something that doesn't seem to like us very much."

"So how does that help us?" Sytsirk asked.

"I think I slowed it down a little when I startled it. Whoever it is didn't expect me to be a psychic. Maybe if I play a little mind game, they'll slow enough for you to get out."

What about you?

"Oh, I'll be right behind you. Count on it."

Then what are you waiting for? Do it!

"Right."

Marco glanced around the slab one more time to place where each of the five were. _Here goes nothing_. He focused his mind on the rusted metal post that had once been a street lamp. _Lift. Lift. Lift -- come on, you damn thing, lift!_

The post shook, and slowly began coming out of the ground. The sound alone stopped the Hork-Bajir. Slowly, they began turning towards the post.

"Move now," Marco growled.

As he mentally threw the post -- and all the junk it had uprooted -- at the Hork-Bajir, the three of them ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rachel looked venomously at the foul creature that had taken over her sister's body. Sara didn't flinch. She just stood there and smirked. The Rachel's relief, the Yeerks hadn't killed the others -- instead, they were being saved for a couple of high-ranking Yeerks. Rachel doubted that these Yeerks would be part of the Yeerk Peace Movement like Sytsirk and Aci had. 

"I'm surprised, really," Sara said after a few moments of silence. "You didn't put up much of a fight. Not exactly the Rachel Lansing I remember."

"Yeah, well, I've grown up a bit," Rachel said sarcastically.

Sara's eyes narrowed. "I'd watch that poisonous little tongue of yours if I were you. When Nine gets done with you . . ."

"I'm so scared."

"You should be. Nine is far less forgiving than Visser Three ever was." Sara ran her hand through her dark hair and adjusted her grip on the Dracon beam. "Once this new Kandrona is installed, nothing will stop us from finally conquering the planet. And you and your friends will help greatly in the location of the AAA base."

"You know, me and my friends have a saying that we kind of adopted from the Hork-Bajir." Rachel smirked. "Free or dead. You can probably catch the meaning of those words."

"We could arrange the latter."

"So, where is this Kandrona?" Even though she already knew, she wanted to keep Sara talking as much as possible.

"Not that it matters to you, but . . . over there." She gestured at the torch of the Statue of Liberty. Rachel looked.

And stared as the entire torch exploded in a shower of dust, dirt, concrete, and flame. A loud KA-BOOM!shook the ground as the statue seemed to literally collapse on itself and into the harbor. 

"What in the . . . the Kandrona!" Sara forgot all about Rachel and raced after the others Controllers. The prisoners were forgotten as they rushed to the various Bug Scouts and such.

So only they noticed _The Quest_ emerging from the cloud of dust that had mounted from the explosion as she flew towards them.

When Jake managed to slip unnoticed into the now abandoned work site, Rachel looked up at him and said, "What took you so long?"

Chapter Twelve 

Marco was leaning against the side of a building. "I think we lost them," he said, panting hard. "What do you think?"

Breeyar was stretching his tail. I think we ran in the complete opposite direction than before and now we're even more lost, that's what I think. He shook his head. Don't _ever_ tell anyone I said that.

Sytsirk grinned. "Don't worry. I doubt anyone would believe me, anyway."

"Now all we need to do is find out where we are," Marco muttered. "Great. And I'm physically and mentally exhausted -- my power won't get us out of this mess."

Perhaps you'd like a ride?

"A ride would be . . . huh?" Marco looked up. "Hey, look! We're saved!"

Sytsirk and Breeyar both turned to see _The Quest_ slowly drifting to the ground. Shamia was extra careful, due to the major debris littering the streets and sidewalks. Jake appeared at the open door. "Come on, you guys -- Shamia and Imoteo can't keep her hovering forever!"

Breeyar immediately made a dash for the ship. Sytsirk followed hesitantly a moment later. "Marco, come on!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," he complained, moving slowly towards the ship. "I'm also tired."

As the doors closed, Breeyar turned to Taylor. Where to now?

Taylor took his cap off and wiped the hair out of his eyes. "Home, sir. Home."

Breeyar nodded. Shamia. Set course for AAA base Buffalo.

Yes, sir.

Marco noticed Shane sitting off to the side. "He's coming with us?" 

Jake nodded. "We tried looking for his aunt -- couldn't find her."

"I'm not surprised. In this place, you're lucky if you can find anything." Jake nodded again and walked over to talk to Breeyar. Marco stood by one of the observation windows and looked down at the remains of the Big Apple as they lifted off and began to fly away.

__

Maybe I'll come back someday, he thought. _Maybe. It'd be nice, once all this is over, to see . . . _he stopped the thought and shook his head. "Forget her," he muttered. He had more important things on his mind. Like finding his dad.

Still, if he came back . . . maybe . . .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the ship flew off, a lone figure stood on a desolate rooftop. Her eyes were fixated on the face in the window, clearly outlined in the darkness of the night. 

Her eyes flashed red, and a feline growl resonated from within her throat. A another figure came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

SOON, MY LOVE.

SOON.

****

{So, what'd ya think? Took me a long time to final complete this thing. Sorry there's no preview at the end, but I'm having just a tad bit of a problem with coming up with a decent plot. Actually, there are three running around in my head. So what I'm gonna do is stick a poll underneath this. Three plots: one choice. Let me know which you'd prefer!}

PLOT #1:

Just who exactly IS T'auk-Emanel-Cooraf? What significance is the name Elfangor to him? And what was it with him in the beginning of 2032? I'd love to tell his story, but I need to know if you guys are interested. 

PLOT #2

All right. Just when you think you MIGHT have her figured out, something else happens that messes things up. Yup, I'm talking about Cat. So, do you guys want her in this next story or what? If so, expect more than just the one flashback -- it'll be significant in telling who that strange guy calling her "Love" is. Plot 2 delves deeper in the hidden world of the Cataluna.

Plot #3

You're basic plot, which doesn't revolve around just one person. Nine's up to no good (as usual), and the AAA needs someone on the inside. Tobias, after a sudden return from who-knows-where, volunteers as the guinea pig. And just when he thinks he's gotten away with his little spy expedition -- everything falls apart! 

{Three plots: one choice. If you want to vote, just stick your choice with your review. If you absolutely feel you can't choose one, stick them all from the order of most want to least want. I'll do my best. Thanks, and . . . 

ADIAMO!


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